From Out of the Ashes
by StarKnight2.0
Summary: Long after the Mushroom War, Zim wakes up from stasis and finds that the earth has changed. No humans and no Dib. He now resumes his quest at world domination in the Land of Ooo but he soon runs into someone as troublesome as Dib. the last human, Finn. COMPLETE.
1. Act 1: The End

**(A/N: i don't own anything. enjoy and review.)**

Act 1: The End

The sky was growing darker with each passing minute.

The sprawling urban metropolis had grown dark and silent in preparation for the coming storm of bullets and bombs.

The small green skinned boy quickly ran down the street. He darted past ruined buildings and he ducked into side alleys to avoid military checkpoints. The boy weaved through small, human encampments in the park and he sprinted past more ruined buildings till he reached a small cul-de-sac.

The green boy sprinted to the only house that looked rather undamaged.

It was tall, with green walls and purple windows. The house looked rather crooked and it had large metal tubes coming out from the sides and had burrowed into its neighbors like a parasite. The boy sighed in relief as he ran through the front yard. He darted past the robotic lawn gnomes, plastic animals and through the large purple door he was finally home. The boy stopped and let himself catch his breath.

The green skinned boy was not an ordinary human being.

He was actually an alien from the planet Irk. He was a member of the proud Irken race and an elite soldier of the empire. An invader.

Well a former invader really, after the whole 'attacking his own home world' incident he was stripped of his rank and status but in his mind he was still an invader of good standing. He was Invader Zim, the future conqueror of Earth and future master of the Human race.

But all that may soon go up in smoke, very, very soon. Over the past few months' humanity was at war with itself, over trivial matters like natural resources and a few dead politicians.

Many have died in the first month and many more have been wounded in the following weeks.

Lately Zim had been refocusing his tactics in his conquest. He was planning on trying to stop the war because if he didn't, mankind might somehow end up wiping itself out, he would then have nobody to rule and he would become the laughing stock of the Irken Empire. He would fail his mission but Zim clenched his fist and promised himself that he will not fail his leaders, The Almighty Tallests.

Zim straightened himself and called out "GIR! GIR! Where are you!" a small green dog with big eyes came running in to the living room holding a rubber pig.

The dog was no ordinary dog, it was Zim's loyal robot minion GIR, a defective SIR unit that he was given before he started his mission on Earth.

Even though GIR was defective and disobedient, he was very loyal to Zim and helped him, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally.

GIR shed his doggy disguise and asked, "Did you bring biscuits? Huh? Did ya?"

Zim scowled then said, "No, I was finishing my final patrol of the city, I didn't stop to get you biscuits. Besides all the supermarkets that have the ones you like were destroyed"

"Oh" said GIR, looking crestfallen.

Zim glanced out of a nearby window and saw that everything was still quiet "We don't have much time, we got to get to the lower levels" he pushed past GIR and rushed to the couch.

Zim pressed a button on his wrist computer and the couch rose from the ground revealing a small metal platform. Zim and GIR stepped onto the platform and the platform descended into the bowels of the house.

* * *

Once the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft Zim quickly sprinted down the metal paneled hall, passing dozens of laboratories, spare quarters and storage rooms till he reached the last lab at the end of the hall.

He punched in a code into the keypad, which beeped accepting his code and the two rushed into the spacious lab.

The room was lined with monitors and other assorted technology and at the heart of the lab was a pod that was made of violet glass and metal.

Zim pressed a button on his wrist computer and the door slammed shut, followed by a few loud thuds and clicks, sealing the two in the room.

GIR hugged the rubber piggy close to him saying "Why are we here again?"

"Enacting my most ingenious plan yet" said Zim as he was typing something in his wrist computer, the entire lab shook and there were some loud thuds, groans and grinding which faded quickly.

GIR cocked his head "You gonna stop the war?' Zim looked at him, looking taken-a back "Huh? Oh no, I stopped trying to stop this stupid conflict weeks ago, I'm trying save our lives".

GIR nodded "Uh huh, I had no idea what you just said"

Zim grumbled "I'm going to bury the entire base and leave up a disposable decoy in its place, then we're going to go into cryo-stasis. From there we will wait till this conflict has passed and as the humans rebuild their pitiful lives, we will return and take over"

"Oooh" said GIR finally understanding.

There was one last, loud groan then a thud that shook the entire base and the computer reported "Submersion complete" "Excellent" said Zim.

GIR asked "But what if everyone has exploded and there is only us?"

Zim looked at his robot minion and said confidently "That won't happen, these humans are like Vortian mud roaches, they're stupid, ugly, dirty and they are hard to kill, they'll survive somehow" Zim then said in a low tone that was filled with hatred "They always do".

Zim looked at his wrist computer and saw the time, from his spy probes in the human governments, he had only a few hours left till the assault was about to happen. Zim made one last check through his computer systems, checking his base of operations and saw that everything was perfectly buried. To be safe, he even buried the base even further into the earth to protect him from the radiation bombs and to reduce the risk of being accidentally discovered in the bombing.

Once all that was out of the way he turned to GIR, who was playing some game with the rubber piggy, he tiptoed to the small robot and said "Time to sleep GIR".

GIR stopped and began to weep "I don't wanna!" he began to wail and pound his fists on the floor.

After a few minutes of sobbing Zim grew impatient then growled, "You will go to sleep! I order you to sleep, now!"

"Only if you read me a story!" said GIR, Zim's antenna twitched in irritation then he let out an exasperated groan.

* * *

"And so the family of gnomes lived happily ever after" said Zim, he was sitting on the floor with a small storybook in hand and GIR was sitting beside him, completely enthralled by the story.

Zim flipped to the final page and said, "Except for the youngest whose head exploded because he lied a lot" he slammed the book shut then said "Now sleep!"

GIR jumped to his feet crying "I don't wanna!" but he collapsed and he went completely still, there was a soft hum then complete silence.

Zim sighed "Finally" he scooped up the deactivated robot and placed him in a small container besides the glass pod, he even tossed in the rubber pig knowing that GIR would probably annoy him till he find a new one.

Zim glanced at his wrist computer and saw that the assault was only minutes away, just enough time to do some last minute business but Zim just leaned against the pod thinking back on his time on Earth.

Even though he hated humans and he wanted to wipe out the entire, filthy race, he sort of grew fond of a few things. He gained a tolerance to some Earth foods and television programs, he enjoyed watching the Dib monkey squirm and fail at stopping his schemes.

Zim even liked taking advantage of the human's stupidity, like he did at the North Pole after the whole mutant Santa fiasco.

Zim snickered at the memory. Especially at the part where Dib was beaten to a pulp by the very people he saved.

But now everything was different, mankind's own stupidity and greed was going to be its downfall, not a glorious bloody slaughter at the hands of Zim or the Irken empire.

Zim snarled to nobody "Stupid humans" he opened the glass lid of the stasis pod.

As he got into the pod he felt just a speck of sadness that he was going to let Dib and everyone else die in a horrible bloody war. But all that evaporated when Zim just shrugged and said happily "Well good luck with that Dib, see you in a few years" he laid down and the lid automatically closed and sealed the Irken inside.

Zim's eyes grew heavy then closed and the Irken invader drifted off to a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

The computer's AI began its shut down, lights and life support powered down. The power generator darkened and then died, but suddenly there was a slight surge in power from a long forgotten device planted in the systems by a certain human boy.

The power surged to the main computer and the stasis pod's automatic timer was changed from a few years to one thousand years.

Somewhere miles away, in a secure bunker the human boy named Dib laughed for no apparent reason.

* * *

The clocks had struck midnight and alarms howled into the night signaling one thing. The time had come, zero hour.

Aircraft streaked across the sky, anti aircraft cannons roared and spat massive slugs of hot lead.

The sky was alight with flairs and the silence was replaced with gunfire and screams.

Soldiers flooded the streets and battled each other. Corpses began to pile up into mountains.

As the battle wore on a single object streaked across the night sky and it plummeted towards the earth, carrying only one thing. Death.

The object struck the heart of the city like a hammer and in a split second the entire city was engulfed by atomic light and fire.

For a few hours the world seemed to be on fire. Bodies, buildings, cars, trees, atomic flames engulfed everything.

All around the world it was the same, major city's and other population centers were the war was being fought, were cleansed by a singular weapon, in a single instant. In that instant the planet shined like the sun but soon the fires died and soon everything went silent.

Dead silent. The war was over.

End of chapter.

**(a/n: well what do you think? please review.)**


	2. Act 2: Brave New World

**(a/n: here you go, a new chapter. Enjoy and review)**

* * *

Act 2: Brave new world

Zim bolted up right gasping and coughing.

His spat out a copious amount of mucus from his lungs and they l became filled with new clean oxygen. Zim cleared his throat. Zim glanced around the lab and saw that his plan was a success.

For one he's alive and two his lab is intact.

Zim rubbed his eyes as he crawled out of the stasis pod. He tried to stand but his legs wobbled and he fell down on his face. His limbs were stiff and numb from being in stasis for a long period of time.

Zim laid on the cold metal floor for a few minutes till the feeling in his legs returned and he pushed himself off of the cold floor "Computer, Status report" said Zim he leaned against the stasis pod for support.

The main computer screen blinked on and the computer's voice reported "Submersion successful, base one hundred percent intact, main power generators operational and reserves fully intact " Zim sighed in relief but the computer continued "But before the final shutdown of main systems, there was a power surge from a foreign device planted within the systems".

Zim's eyes widened "What! Locate the device" on the screen, a map of the base appeared and a blue dot appeared on a distant part of the base.

Zim scowled and he pushed a button on his wrist computer and the doors to the lab creaked open.

He rushed out the lab and down the hall towards the device. Lights blinked on and systems began to come back online as he passed. Zim had to cut his way through a forest of cobwebs to reach an elevator at the end of the hall.

The elevator ascended two floors and deposited him on a level that had rooms where he conducted most of his experiments.

Zim reached the room at the end of the hall, he glanced around then he saw a large metal tube that ran from the ceiling to the floor. He walked over and he removed a small panel and saw a small black device. It looked rather dusty and it had an inscription on it.

The inscription was faded but he could clearly make out what it said.

The inscription read "Property of Dib Membrane".

Zim scowled, he crushed the device in his hands "Dib, still interfering with my schemes" he turned and ordered, "Computer, run an analysis in case the device affect any of the systems".

The computer reported, "All main systems remain unaffected but one"

"one?" said Zim "the device had created the power surge and it affected the stasis pod's systems".

Zim's eyes widened "What? How?" "Processing" said the Computer.

After a few minutes the computer spoke "It had affected the pod's automated timer, it had changed it" Zim's heart almost stopped "Changed!" thoughts raced through his head.

This changed everything, how far was he in the future? What was the outcome of the war? Whatever it was, he had to get to the surface and see the outcome of the war. Zim turned and ran back to the elevator and he darted back to the lab.

He found the metal container beside his stasis pod, he threw it open and he pulled GIR out of the container screaming and shaking the tiny metal form "GIR! GIR! Wake up something's wrong!" GIR's lifeless form shifted a little then there was a soft hum and then GIR's eyes lit up.

GIR looked up at him yawning "Are we there yet?"

Zim growled "Hurry up, follow me to the transport". Zim spun around and he rushed towards the elevator, GIR followed closely behind. They crammed into the elevator and they ascended to the very top of the base, their fake house.

* * *

Zim glanced around and found that everything was left as it should, the sheets covering the furniture was still in place.

The curtains were still in place, only that they had some holes in them. Probably moths, thought Zim.

Zim said sternly "Raise the base and activate perimeter defenses" the entire base shook and there were groans as tons of dirt and rocks were shifted away by metal. Zim saw through one of the wholes in his curtains that house rose out of the ground like some sort of plant, which was followed by the fences, the lawn gnomes, lawn animals and a large flag that said "I love earth!".

Sunlight spilled into the house through the holes in the curtains, shedding away some of the darkness.

Zim glanced at GIR saying "Get ready GIR, through that door is a barren wasteland of radiation and waste, for all we know the human race may have turned into giant, flesh eating mutant apes or something"

GIR clapped and cheered "Yay!" "That's bad GIR" said Zim

GIR stopped clapping "Oh".

Zim edged towards the door, he drew a gun from his Pak, his hand grasped the doorknob and he flung the door open, expecting mutated human creatures and a desolate wasteland. But what he saw was the exact opposite. What he saw was a lush, green forest.

Zim stepped outside and he looked around at his new environment. The house was no longer wedged between two large buildings, it was now standing alone in a clearing surrounded by a forest of trees that seemed to go on for miles. Zim glanced up at the sky and saw that it was clear blue and bright with the warm sun shining down on them.

Zim lowered his weapon then said, "Well this is not what I expected" he put the gun back in his Pak muttering, "I don't understand, there should be ruins or at least some signs of the war, not this".

Suddenly a cold feeling ran down his spine "Unless…no, no!" he spun and ran back inside, slamming the door behind him "Computer!" he shouted

"What" said groaned the computer "How long have we been asleep?" said Zim

"Processing" said the computer.

After a few seconds the computer said in monotone "Based on scans from the surrounding area and the positions of the stars in the local constellations, the precise length is one thousand years". Zim's jaw dropped and GIR gasped.

Zim dropped to his knees screaming at the top of his lungs towards the ceiling "Curse you Dib! Curse you!" he continued screaming at the top of his lungs for a few minutes, till he finally stopped to take a breather.

GIR patted Zim on the shoulder saying "There, there" Zim began muttering in a panicked voice "What do I do? The Tallest…the Armada…Operation Impending Doom 2!" Zim slammed his fist on the floor repeatedly. In between each swing he grunted, "Curse…that…horrid…human!" there was a loud beeping and some alarms blared.

Zim glanced around saying "Computer what is it!" "Specimen 6467's pod is failing, he is waking up" said the Computer

Zim's eyes widened "Specimen…Oh no!" he dived back into the elevator with GIR, the elevator dropped rapidly to the second to last floor of the base and they rushed to the laboratory at the end of the hall.

Inside was a single pod, it was longer then Zim's and it had dozens of large metal pipes, conduits and wires plugged into various ports all over the pod.

The glass lid was fogged up obscuring Zim's view of what's inside, but he didn't care. Zim's fingers flew across the keyboard and he noted a few severed wires. Quickly, he snatched them up and quickly welded them back together causing the alarms to stop and the beeping to subside.

Zim sighed and wiping away some sweat from his forehead.

Specimen 6467 was one of his latest projects and probably his guaranteed, ace in the hole against human rebellion. But Specimen 6467 was not ready for action, not yet.

Zim had placed him into stasis so that the base's Artificial Intelligence can download the obedience software and the combat systems automatically while Zim would set up his new regime over the human survivors. But all that had gone up in flames.

He was stuck a thousand years in the future with no idea what lies in wait for him. For all he knows is that the humans had rebuilt their civilization and have advanced their technology and intelligence further to the point where he would be defeated.

Zim shook his head, expelling those thoughts out of his mind. He was an Irken Invader, an elite soldier. Whatever lies out there, he'll overcome it and conquer the planet.

With renewed confidence Zim cleared his throat "Computer, scan the planet surface for life forms" a screen lowered itself from the ceiling and it showed a map of the planet.

The computer scanned for a moment then reported "there are still a few thousand life forms, maybe more but scans show that there is something odd about the life forms"

"odd?" asked Zim "How odd" "I dunno" said the computer "It's just odd".

Zim just shrugged "Ok we'll deal with that later, for now resume Specimen 6467's download, how far along is it?" "Seventy-nine percent" answered the computer

"Good" said Zim "Now GIR-" he stopped and turned around looking for GIR but the little robot was nowhere to be found. Zim wondered where could the little robot have wandered off to but he instantly knew where he would be.

* * *

Zim stepped off of the elevator and he saw GIR sitting on the couch with his rubber pig, watching what looked like an old spaghetti western. Even after a thousand years of sleep, somethings never changed.

Zim rolled his eyes then pulled out his disguise putting on the wig and eye lenses, he strolled strolled to the door saying "GIR, guard the base while I'm gone, I'm going to survey our new surroundings"

GIR jumped off the couch saluting and saying dutifully "Yes my master!" he then jumped back onto the couch and continued watching his film.

Zim muttered something then he walked out the door.

* * *

Zim pressed on through the wall of trees, silently walking through the forest.

The forest was silent and calm but Zim kept his guard up. He was ready to fight at a moments notice.

After a few minutes of crisscrossing through the forest, Zim plopped down at the foot of a tree that sat at the very edge of the forest. Zim glanced back in the direction of his base but he couldn't see the clearing from this distance.

He turned his glance towards what laid ahead, an endless horizon of green that met the blue sky and it was dotted with rolling hills.

Zim felt calmer, he didn't feel tense about keeping his disguise on but he still felt a bit on edge.

He looked up to the clear blue sky wondering what had happened when he was in stasis, what was the state of the Irken Empire? What happened to Operation Impending Doom 2, did it succeed or fail?

Zim snapped out of his thoughts and decided to continue on with his patrol.

* * *

Zim stood atop a pile of boulders scanning the endless horizon with a pair of binoculars, he saw nothing but some mountains in the distance and a forest. But something passed by his line of sight quickly

"What was that?" muttered Zim.

He quickly searched for it and he saw it, he couldn't see what it was clearly but he saw that it was close by and it was moving fast towards the north.

Zim shoved his binoculars back into his Pak then he began pursing the figure from a distance.

He followed the figure northward till it vanished around the bend, Zim carefully stayed a good distance away so that he wouldn't be noticed but close enough to follow. Zim tiptoed around the corner and he dived into some nearby bushes.

He pushed away some of the branches and he inspected where the figure had led him.

What he saw made Zim rub his eyes a few times to make sure that he wasn't in some sort of bizzare dream.

About a few yards away from him was a village with buildings made of ginger bread and the people inhabiting it were walking, talking candy people. Some of them looked like bannana's and one looked like a dog with gold fur.

Zim's eyes darted around the village, taking in the sights then he murmured to himself, "What the heck is going on?".

End of Chapter.

**(a/n: well here you go. i hoped you enjoyed it. review!)**


	3. Act 3: The Gravemaker

**(a/n: here you go. hope you enjoy it. review. warning, things get a little violent in this)**

* * *

Act 3: the Gravemaker

Zim cautiously walked down the dirt road into the candy village.

He had sat in the bushes for a few minutes coming to terms with the village's existence.

He then began planning his next move, weather he should return to the base or continue on into the village. Zim finally decided to investigate the village for information purposes.

Zim passed a few candy people who just greeted him and continued on their way.

Zim studied every detail of the village as he made his way to the center of the town, all the houses were well built, the streets were paved with cobblestones and there were lampposts lining the streets.

In the center of town there was a large water ornate fountain.

Zim glanced around seeing streets spreading out into a few other directions leading to other parts of the village.

Zim sat down on the edge of the fountain looking at the various candy people passing by and he noticed that they seemed very human.

They didn't question his skin color or lack of ears. They just carried on with their happy lives.

Everything just seemed perfect and right for Zim to continue his conquest but something felt wrong.

He felt that there was something missing or something that could get in the way but he just shrugged and continued investigating the village.

Zim weaved through the streets and between houses and buildings, looking through windows of stores and even entered a few.

Everything seemed like a normal town, except the inhabitants were walking talking snack-foods not human beings. Zim was walking through a back ally when suddenly his foot connected with something and he tripped, falling flat on his face.

Zim heard a soft voice say "Oh my, sorry I wasn't watching where I was going"

Zim lifted his head and saw a small elephant "What the…Who are you?" said Zim.

The small elephant spoke saying "I'm Tree Trunks, who are you?"

"I am Zim" said Zim, Tree Trunks studied Zim closely "I don't believe I've seen you around the Candy Kingdom before" Zim's heart began to thump hard "That's because I uh, I'm new around here"

Zim nodded saying quickly "Uh yep, I'm new here, absolutely normal I'm not here to destroy the world" he laughed a little "I'm absolutely normal".

Tree Trunks smiled "oh that's probably it" she stuck her trunk out to Zim "It's nice to meet you" they shook hands, or trunk and then Tree Trunks asked "I've been meaning to ask, what are you?"

"Uh, I'm human, a normal human boy" said Zim "Hm I've never seen a human with green skin" said Tree Trunks "It's a skin condition" said Zim dismissively.

Zim glanced around then asked, "Who is in charge around here?"

"What do you mean?" said Tree Trunks

"Who rules over these people" asked Zim

Tree Trunks said casually "Oh that would be Princess Bubblegum, she rules the entire Candy Kingdom".

Zim frowned then said "Thank you, but I think I uh left something in the oven" he turned and ran as fast as he could down the street, back on the main road and out of the village.

* * *

Zim ran as quickly as he could back to base, he burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Zim plopped down on the floor and sat back against the door, thoughts swirling around in his head.

What had happened to the Earth? What happened to the Humans? Did they get eaten by these candy people and talking animals? Or was it something else.

Zim had only learned a few things. The earth was now populated with candy people, talking animals and who knows what else.

Second, the only information on the current leadership was this Princess Bubblegum.

Zim didn't know what do, but a single thought came to his mind. Call the Tallest's and report in.

Zim walked past GIR, who was still sitting on the couch watching his movie and he entered the elevator, which descended into the lower levels of the base.

* * *

Just as Zim descended to the lower levels someone had knocked on the door softly.

GIR paused his movie and he got off the couch, he walked over to the door and opened it saying happily "Hi there!" he stepped aside and the figures swarmed inside like a tidal wave.

* * *

Zim got out of the elevator and he walked over to the main view screen in one of the labs, he pushed a few buttons and the screen came to life.

After a few minutes the screen came into focus and the live image of a room filled with Irkens came into view.

All the Irkens looked up at Zim and began to murmur to each other. The room was spacious with wide windows showing the Irken capital city's crowded skyline.

A single figure approached the screen.

Standing there was a tall slender female Irken dressed in light blue robes, had blue eyes and curled antennas.

The Tallest scowled and said in a soft but gruff voice, "Who is this?"

"Who am I? Who are you?" asked Zim

"I am Almighty Tallest Xale and I demand to know who is calling"

"Invader Zim reporting in sir, er ma'am" Zim saluted.

The Tallest's eyes widened "Zim?" every Irken in the room muttered in awe, some pointed and one even fainted "What?" asked Zim "What did I say?".

The Tallest blinked "Zim you're supposed to be dead"

"Huh?" said Zim

"A thousand years ago, the armada arrived at Earth and saw that its people were wiped out" explained the Tallest "they listed you among the dead soldiers in Operation Impending Doom 2".

Zim explained how he buried his base and he went into stasis "And here I am" said Zim

the Tallest nodded "That is quite an intriguing story" she smiled a little "Its good to have you back"

"Yes it is" said Zim, he scratched his chin then said "So when will the armada arrive?"

"What?" said the Tallest looking a little confused.

Zim asked again "When will the armada arrive to conquer earth?" the Tallest frowned "Zim, the war is over, Operation Impending Doom 2 was a huge success" Zim blinked "What?"

"We won, the war is over, we are in the middle of one of the longest era's of peace in years" said Tallest Xale " just before you called we were in the middle of celebrating the thousandth anniversary of Operation Impending Doom 2 and we were honoring those who gave their lives in the war" she nodded to Zim "you included".

Zim sat back in his chair and absorbed the information.

They had won the war. The Irken empire now reign's supreme in the galaxy, but what will he do now?

Zim looked up at the Tallest and asked "What about my mission? What about Earth?"

Tallest Xale shrugged "you can continue you're conquest of Earth if you like, if not well you are always welcome to return home"

Zim smiled and saluted "Thank you my Tallest, I will continue my conquest of earth and I will not fail you"

"good luck" said Tallest Xale, the crowd of Irkens standing behind the Tallest cheered and clapped "Invader Zim signing off!" he saluted and the screen went dead. Zim got out of his seat and he skipped off to the elevator humming a happy tune.

* * *

On planet Irk, Tallest Xale stood out on the balcony of her tower that overlooked the city.

The streets were packed with Irkens going to and from various parties all around the city. In the center of the city was a monument of an Irken soldier raising the flag of the empire atop a mound of bodies.

The Tallest frowned thinking about Zim and how he was alive.

She could hardly believe it. Even though he could be a great asset he could be just as much trouble. The Irken Empire had finally attained galactic domination after years of bloodshed and careful planning but if Zim is anything like what her predecessors had warned her about, then all that could be lost in a matter of minutes.

Tallest Xale felt like she should do something, but she just shrugged and went back inside to rejoin the party muttering "I'll deal with him in the morning".

* * *

Zim got off the elevator saying happily "GIR, get ready for-" but he stopped in the doorway, shocked at what he saw.

In the living room, GIR was tied up with rope and there were hundreds of small green men scurrying around dismantling the television and were building some sort of device from the cannibalized parts.

The men were about GIR's height, they had light green skin, long grey beards and pointed red hats. "Hey what's going on here!" yelled Zim the men stopped and looked up at Zim "We are Gnomes from the Beneathaverse in need of a new home" said one of the gnomes "We lost our home and have been searching for a new home"

"Your home is perfect for us" said another "The technology is what we need to rebuild our machine and with it we can have our revenge on Finn and Jake, so we must have this house".

Zim scowled "No, this is my house and my technology, go find your own"

"We weren't asking" said the first gnome, he snapped his fingers and the front door opened letting two, large gnomes into the house.

They were about Zim's height and they were muscular, the lead gnome pointed at Zim and yelled, "Get him!" Zim's eyes widened as they lumbered in, he yelled at GIR "GIR, defensive mode!" GIR straightened up and his eyes glowed red.

But one of the gnomes tossed a muffin into GIR's mouth and GIR's eyes returned to their normal blue as he devoured the muffin contently.

Zim growled then called out "Security, get rid of the intruders!" there was a soft beep and the computer said in monotone "Defense grid still under repair" Zim groaned in annoyance. He glanced up and saw even more Gnomes crawling out of the tangle of coils that covered the ceiling. the Gnome leader began to cackle "We will have this house!"

"You'll never get this house!" yellled Zim as the Gnomes began to swarm his way.

He needed something to get rid of them and quickly but suddenly an idea came to his mind, he smiled he turned and darted back to the kitchen, he opened the fridge revealing a secret express elevator.

He slammed on any of the buttons on the walls and the door slammed shut just before the gnomes entered the kitchen.

* * *

The elevator dropped fast till it stopped abruptly and the doors slid open revealing one of his labs, he saw the single object that inhabited the room.

It was the stasis pod, containing Specimen 6467.

Zim rushed over to the control screen and brought up the download status.

There was a loud groan of metal and some shouts; he quickly glanced over the information till he found what he wanted.

It read "download status: one hundred percent complete"

Zim hissed "Excellent!" he jabbed in a code and the lid of the stasis pod began to un-fog.

There was a hiss and some white vapor began to pour out of the sides of pod and the lid began to rise slowly. The elevator doors were pried open with a loud groan and the two large Gnomes lumbered into the lab, ready to beat Zim to a pulp.

Zim closed his eyes, waiting for the pain but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and saw that they stopped dead in their tracks.

Zim turned to see what they were looking at and he smiled triumphantly.

Specimen 6467 rose from pod like a vampire from his coffin, most of his features were shrouded by the vapor and by black cloth that was wrapped around his most of his face.

He climbed out of the pod, his feet touching the metal floor with a loud thud, the three of them watched Specimen 6467 rise to his full height. He towered over Zim and the Gnomes; he was a tall dark slender shadow in the vapor.

He stepped out of the vapor revealing himself, which caused the Gnomes gasped.

One of them said breathlessly "W-who, uh what are you?"

Specimen 6467's eyes landed on the two intruders, his hand glided to a holster at his side and he drew a revolver then took aim at the two growling in a low, electronically distorted voice "Death" he then squeezed the trigger.

* * *

Back on the surface, the Gnome ruler was growing impatient for his two subordinates to return he began to bark orders to a group of ten gnomes to check on their progress but the refrigerator's door opened and the two Gnomes were tossed out of it and they landed on the ground, unmoving and silent.

Zim then jumped out, followed by a new comer.

He was tall and wore a long, ragged looking black coat that reached to his ankles.

He wore jet-black boots and a wide brimmed hat.

The Gnome ruler looked closely at his face and his eyes widened.

The new comer's face was mostly covered except for the bridge of his nose and his eyes. He saw that he was young, his left eye was replaced by a red, glowing cybernetic replacement.

Small metal implants were fused to his flesh in various parts but the right eye and the right part of his face were untouched.

His flesh was grey color and small patches of black hair poked out from under his hat.

The Gnome ruler was astonished, not by the new comer's fashion or his implants but by the fact that he was very…human.

"What is he!" cried one of the gnomes, pointing at the young man in black, Zim just smirked "oh just a human I modified for combat"

"a human!" exclaimed the ruler "yes I know, terrifying isn't he" said Zim, he stepped out of the path of the human in black, the human in black began to inch his way towards the gnomes and they receded, backing away from him.

"He is Specimen 6467" said Zim with a hint of pride "But I have given him a different name. I call him the Gravemaker" instinctively the human drew a pair of silver-purple, Irken modified revolvers from inside his coat.

The Gravemaker took aim and he unleashed hell on the army of Gnomes.

* * *

Within a matter of minutes, all, but one, of the gnomes were struck down by the Gravemaker's plasma pistols.

The Gnome leader was up against a wall with one of the Gravemaker's pistol's aimed for his head.

Zim stood in the middle of the living room, looking upon the carnage with a mixture of awe and pride.

The Gravemaker killed them all in a show of great skill and ferocity. Zim snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the leader of the gnomes beg for mercy.

Zim strode over to the cornered gnome and he looked down on him asking "Dose anybody else know that you are here?" the gnome shook his head "n-no" "Good" said Zim.

Zim snapped his fingers and the Gravemaker squeezed the trigger, the Gnome's head jerked back and his body crumpled to the floor.

Zim let out a cold laugh "Nobody gets the best of Zim!" he turned to the Gravemaker saying "Nice going, now clean this up" the young man in black nodded and began to gather the bodies.

GIR came running in to the living room cheering "Yay! He's awake, he's awake, big brother's awake!"

"where were you?" asked Zim

"Bathroom" said GIR innocently.

Zim frowned but he continued on "Anyway, with Dib and the rest of those pitiful humans gone, and with the Gravemaker fully awakened, I will dominate this planet and I will return home to Irk with glory!"

Zim threw his head back and let out a long and loud triumphant laugh.

GIR joined in the laughter and began to dance around the living room, while the Gravemaker just cleaned the room of corpses silently.

* * *

Meanwhile, watching from the outside through an open window, a living cinnamon bun named Cinnamon Bun gasped in horror.

He had seen and heard everything that happened inside the house.

Somewhere deep down, he had a cold feeling spread through him that the alien named Zim could be big trouble.

He had to warn everyone.

"Oh my glob!" he breathed.

Cinnamon Bun turned and ran away as fast as he could.

End of chapter

**(a/n: well i hoped you enjoyed it. review)**


	4. Act 4: New Kids on the Block

**(a/n: well i hope you enjoy this. i tried to get the Adventure time characters in-character but i think i failed. sorry if this chapter is crap but i just wanted to get this one over with. enjoy!)**

* * *

Act 4: New kids on the block

In the laboratory of Princess Bubblegum, Finn the human watched as Princess Bubblegum carefully poured a bottle of greenish liquid onto a wilted plant in a small flowerpot.

The liquid fizzled and was absorbed into the soil and plant. They waited for a few moments then suddenly the wilted plant straitened up and it started to regain its color.

After a few seconds the plant was fully revitalized "That was awesome!" said Finn

"Thanks Finn" said Princess Bubblegum "with this revitalization solution, we can revitalize wilted crops and flowers"

"yawn" said a voice. The two looked up and saw a teenaged girl floating above them, looking bored "What is it Marceline?" asked Finn

"This is boring" she groaned "Can't we do something exciting?"

"this is exciting" said Princess Bubblegum

"No it's not, hunting treasure in a dungeon is exciting, battling an ogre is exciting, pouring a bottle of chemicals on a plant is not exciting" said Marceline.

Princess Bubblegum frowned and glanced at the revitalized plant saying, "I guess this is a little dull" She peeled off her gloves, took off her safety goggles and discarded her lab coat "I have been planning on taking a break from experiments, I might as well start now"

"Yeah!" shouted Finn.

Marceline smiled "Great, so what do you guys want to do?"

"How about we go treasure hunting" suggested Princess Bubblegum, she reached into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out a aged scroll "I found this yesterday in the library, it's a map to a long lost treasure"

"That sounds like fun" said Finn

"Lets get going already" said Marceline who glided out of the lab, Finn and Princess Bubblegum followed her.

The trio entered the foyer where they saw Jake and Lady Rainicorn talking to a flustered Cinnamon Bun.

He was sweating and looked terrified, he was speaking at a rapid pace that made it hard to follow "What's going on?" asked Finn

Jake glanced at Finn saying "I don't know, he just running in here screaming something".

Princess Bubblegum walked over to Cinnamon Bun and placed a hand on his shoulder saying soothingly "Its ok, you're safe, just tell us what's going on?"

Cinnamon bun stopped and he took a deep breath, then explained "I was just walking in the woods and I heard this noise. It was coming from this house… it was weird because it wasn't there before, well I looked through a window and saw this green guy. He was talking to these gnomes and then this tall guy in black started killing them".

Everyone gasped, "Whoa" breathed Marceline "that's hardcore"

"What else happened?" asked Finn

Cinnamon bun shuddered "they all died and the green guy started saying that he will take over the world and return to someplace called Irk"

"He's an alien!" exclaimed Jake. Everyone gave Jake questioning looks "What makes you say that?" asked Finn

Jake shrugged "I don't know but that sounds like an alien planet"

"Makes sense" said Finn.

Princess Bubblegum frowned, thinking about Cinnamon Buns story till finally she spoke "that dose sound very troublesome"

"we should check it out" said Finn

"What about the treasure hunt?" said Princess Bubblegum

"We can do that another time" said Marceline "Besides, this sounds much more exciting"

"Yeah" said Finn "Lets go and get this psycho alien before he dose something else"

Princess Bubblegum nodded "ok, lets go" She, Cinnamon Bun, Finn and Jake hopped onto Lady Rainicorn's back and they flew out the door, Marceline glided closely behind them and they headed southward towards the supposed alien's base.

* * *

Zim was on his knees scrubbing Gnome blood off of the tiles of his living room floor as the Gravemaker was still collecting corpses and putting them in a large mound so he could dispose of them in a mass grave

"Stinking fools" murmured Zim "Thinking they could take Zim's home away, well I don't think so" he snickered as the memory of the carnage came back to his mind.

He remembered a few gnomes tried to flee but they were a cut down by a single blast of plasma.

Their shrill screams still echoed around his thoughts making him laugh harder. He wiped away the last few drops of blood and he scrambled to his feet.

He gazed around the living room, the floor was completely clean of blood "That's better" sighed Zim.

The computer beeped, Zim glanced up at the ceiling "Computer what is it?"

"After reviewing the defense grid, there has been a breech in security"

"What!" exclaimed Zim "how!"

"The defense grid had just came back on line after the intruders were terminated" explained the computer "But after the initial scan of the perimeter during that time, there was a single life sign just outside one of the walls, near the window"

Zim's heart skipped a beat "Oh no!" someone had seen them and got away.

Was it a gnome? No, not one of the gnomes was able to escape so it must have been someone on the outside who just happened to be in the area at that moment.

Zim took a few deep breaths trying to calm down, maybe they just dismissed what they saw and just left.

Suddenly the computer beeped again "Proximity alert" said the computer "six life signs, coming from the north" Zim froze, so much for that idea.

Any lesser Irken would have packed it in and called it a career but Zim was not a lesser Irken, he did a quick inspection of the living room. It was clean, except for the mountain of corpses but that could be cleaned up quick.

He barked at the Gravemaker "Get rid of the bodies and hurry!" the Gravemaker nodded and he scooped up the bodies and rushed outside in a burst of speed, carefully not dropping a single corpse.

Once the living room was cleaned of the corpses he rushed out of the room and saw GIR sitting on the table, lathered in melted nacho cheese "GIR, clean this mess up and get into you're disguise"

"Why?" whined GIR

"We got uh guests coming" said Zim.

GIR perked up and he quickly licked the cheese off of his body and donned his doggy disguise.

Zim ran through a list of things that were completed muttering "is that everything?" suddenly there was a soft knock at the door causing Zim's heart to jump.

They were here.

GIR giggled, "They're here!"

Zim hissed, "Silence!" but the robot just kept giggling.

Zim rushed to the door, he took one last look around the living room making sure that it was clean of anything that could implicate that they were aliens.

Zim adjusted his wig and cleared his throat then he opened the door.

* * *

Cinnamon Bun had guided the group through the forest till they reached a small clearing. In the middle of that clearing was a tall green house.

It had a purple roof, disproportionate windows and gnome statues surrounded the house.

Marceline raised an eyebrow "is this the right place?"

Cinnamon Bun nodded quickly "Uh huh that's it"

Marceline frowned "What kind of alien would hid in a place like that? This place just screams that he's an alien, not exactly discreet"

"Maybe he's not an alien, he's probably a guy with a weird taste in architecture" said Jake

"Maybe" agreed Marceline

"Or maybe he really is an alien and he just designed his base poorly" said Finn

"Or that" said Marceline.

Princess Bubblegum stepped up to the door saying "Well we won't find out by just standing around here" she raised a hand and knocked.

After a minute of waiting the door opened slowly revealing a short green skinned boy with jet-black hair. Beside him was a small green dog with eyes that were the size of baseballs.

The boy looked at the group suspiciously "Yes, what do you want?"

"Hi" said Princess Bubblegum, smiling a little "We're here on an investigation"

"investigate what?" asked the boy before Princess Bubblegum could answer Finn cut in "We're looking for a crazy, psycho alien who's trying to take over the world"

"Aliens?" said the boy looking surprised, his eyes darted around to the individual members of the group "that's ridiculous, there's no such thing as aliens".

Marceline narrowed her eyes saying, "I've never seen you around before" "Neither have I" said Princess Bubblegum

"I'm new around here" the boy said quickly "I just moved here"

"Oh really?" said Marceline "Where did you move here from?"

The boy glanced around at the surroundings then said "I'm uh from the south".

Finn spoke up "And you don't have any ears, what's up with that?"

the boy frowned "That's part of my skin condition" he looked a little embarrassed "I was born with green skin and no ears, I may not have ears and I may have green skin doesn't mean that I'm an alien dose it?" the boy sniffed and his eyes watered a little

"Guess not" said Finn, feeling a little sorry for the boy.

The boy asked, "What made you think that I was an alien?"

"Oh Cinnamon Bun said that he over heard a person in you're house talking about conquering the world" said Princess Bubblegum

"But I did" said Cinnamon Bun

"We know you did" said Princess Bubblegum, she patted him on the back but she leaned in close to the boy whispering "He's half baked" the boy nodded understanding but he didn't really understand what she meant.

The boy scratched his head "Well if that's all you are here for then I'm sorry to disappoint you, there are no aliens here. It is just I, Zim, my dog GIR" he patted the green dog on the head "And my, uh, older brother, we're normal yes perfectly normal humans"

"Older brother?" said Princess Bubblegum

"Normal?" said Marceline

"Humans?" said Finn, looking skeptical.

* * *

Zim was starting to sweat. He saw the looks on the newcomer's faces; they weren't buying his lie of being human.

Zim had to stall them till the Gravemaker gets back from burying the bodies. He was programmed to not only be a skilled killer but also a skilled infiltrator, he could assume a human likeness and influence humans with great ease.

The Gravemaker should be able to convince them of the lie, thought Zim, if not he would have to kill them.

Zim coughed "how do I know that you aren't the aliens? You haven't even introduced yourselves, I heard that aliens don't introduce themselves"

the pink girl blinked "oh sorry, I'm Princess Bubblegum"

"I'm Marceline" said the dark haired girl

"I'm Finn" said the boy then he pointed to the dog "and this is my best bud, Jake".

Zim frowned and started making mental notes of the group standing before him.

The pink girl was Princess Bubblegum, the current ruler of the earth, she seemed intelligent and resourceful. She could be trouble.

He glanced over to the dark haired girl, something about her made him uneasy yet something about her seems familiar to him. Zim noticed that there were two holes on her neck, they looked like bite marks. Zim remembered something that Dib was ranting about in class a few days before the war started, something about creatures with bite marks on their necks but Zim hardly paid any attention to his ranting.

Lastly he glanced at the boy, he was the first human he saw since he awoke.

Maybe the boy was the last human on earth, thought Zim.

The thought made him happy, one little pest to take care of then he'll be going home. Zim was unsure of the dog, the dog might be trouble but he could be easily taken care of.

Zim scratched himself "Well if that's all, leave, I got things to do"

"But they can't leave" said GIR he looked up to Zim with his big eyes

"Why not?" said Zim glaring down at GIR.

GIR smiled "They can't leave, we need help with the waffles"

"Waffles?" said Zim he turned towards the kitchen "What about waaaaa?" he stopped and his jaw dropped when he saw the mountain of waffles sitting on the kitchen table.

The group looked inside and saw the mountain of waffles "That's a lot of waffles" breathed Finn, his stomach grumbled and everyone looked at him.

Finn blushed "I didn't have breakfast this morning"

"Come on in" said GIR he jumped out of the way and he motioned for the group to enter "You look like you need waffles" Finn smiled and entered the house "Thanks"

Princess Bubblegum followed after "Well I am feeling a little hungry"

Marceline floated in after her, which caused Zim's eyes to almost pop out of their sockets.

Cinnamon Bun just said that he'd wait outside; Zim slammed the door shut, fuming.

* * *

The group took seats around the table and GIR handed them forks, knives and plates, then the group started digging into the mountain of waffles.

Zim was flabbergasted, how could GIR make that many waffles so quickly and how could he just allow the enemy into the house.

Before Zim could begin scolding his robot minion he thought of something

"Computer" he whispered, "Take bio scans of our guests then catalog them for later" "Scanning" said the computer in a low volume.

After a few minutes the group had finished devouring the waffles, Finn burped saying, "Those were some good waffles" he looked at GIR who was sprawled out on the table, completely full of waffles "What was in them?"

"There's waffle in em" squeaked GIR.

Zim heard the door open and he saw a tall slim human enter the house. He had spiky black hair with flecks of grey, his skin was a light grey color and his eyes were black as coal. The human wore a black and white flannel shirt, jeans and red tennis shoes. He knelt down next to Zim saying in a quiet voice "What's going on?".

Zim frowned "Who are you?"

"You know who I am, boss" said the human, his right eye changed from black to red then back in an instant "Gravemaker" whispered Zim the human nodded.

Zim then spoke quietly "Some guests coming to investigate the recent incident"

"Should I take care of them?" asked the Gravemaker, reaching for a hidden knife that was strapped to his ankle

"No just get them out of here before our cover is blown" said Zim.

The Gravemaker nodded "Will do" he got up and made his way to the kitchen while Zim opened a hatch in the wall next to the couch and he climbed into it, making his way to the secret labs.

* * *

Finn drummed his fingers on the tabletop frowning.

Princess Bubblegum noticed his frown "What's wrong Finn?"

"Something doesn't fit" said Finn "Something about what Zim said, is it rally true? I hardly know the dude but something about him just seems weird"

"you're point?" said Marceline

"Is Zim really human?" said Finn in a serious tone "I've never met another human who acts like a person or has green skin, could he be human or could he be something else?"

"Of course he's human" said a warm voice.

Everyone looked and saw standing in the entrance of the kitchen was a tall, slender human. He was eighteen, had grayish skin, black hair with flecks of grey with black eyes. He wore black and white shirt with jeans.

The newcomer smiled warmly "My little brother is a hundred percent human" he walked into the kitchen and looked at each member of the group, he bowed his head a little "I'm Marcus, pleased to meet you" everyone introduced themselves and Marcus smiled "Nice to have some guests" he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Marceline

"we don't really get many visitors since we moved here a few months back" he sighed.

Marceline stared at Marcus, not paying attention to what he is saying. Something about Marcus was familiar, like they met somewhere long ago.

Marcus glanced at Marceline then to Princess Bubblegum then to Finn and Jake "So what brings two lovely ladies, a young lad and a dog to this neck of the woods?" Princess Bubblegum blushed at the comment and explained what happened with Cinnamon Bun and the recent conversation with Zim.

After she finished explaining Marcus nodded "Hm, well that dose sound like an alien but let me clarify" he coughed then explained, "My brother and I were playing a video game and it was about fighting an alien invasion, he defeated me and was saying that he was going to get to the final level, the alien home planet and gain glory for being the first to beat it"

Marcus scratched his cheek "I'm sure you're friend might have misunderstood what was going on".

Princess Bubblegum scratched her chin "that dose sound plausible"

"yeah it dose" agreed Finn

Marcus nodded "just a simple misunderstanding, that's all" GIR dropped a plate of waffles in front of Marcus. Marcus smiled "looks delicious" he patted GIR on the head "Thanks GIR" GIR giggled then jumped off of the table then skittered away.

Marceline stood mumbling "Well this was a waste of an afternoon"

"I wouldn't say so" said Marcus "I made some new friends, two pretty ladies and two awesome dudes, not really a waste of an afternoon"

Marceline smiled a little, something about Marcus made her smile but she couldn't place it.

Finn, Princess Bubblegum, Jake and Marceline were escorted towards the front door by Marcus "Well if you guys want to hang out, play video games or anything, just drop by" he said opening the door "We'll be right here" he said his goodbyes to everyone and they thanked him and GIR for the waffles then they left.

* * *

Marcus leaned against the door sighing "Nice kids"

"Fool!" cried Zim he rushed back into the living room from the secret hatch "You just invited them to come back, they'll find the base and everything will be ruined!"

"I got rid of them, did I?" said Marcus, crossing his arms "Besides I was only being friendly, that's the first step of infiltration. Be friendly with the enemy, gather information and gain their trust. Then when their guard is down we can strike"

Zim opened his mouth then closed, looking completely speechless.

Zim glared at the Gravemaker "I hate you"

"no you don't, you love me" said the Gravemaker, he smirked as he donned his black clothing and his cybernetic implants returned to his face.

Zim frowned and sat down on the couch

"What is it?" asked the Gravemaker, he sat down beside Zim

"I don't know" muttered Zim "Something about that girl is familiar, I can't shake this feeling that she knows us"

the Gravemaker's eyes narrowed "Who? Marceline?"

Zim nodded and the Gravemaker nodded as well "I got that feeling too"

"What do we do?" asked GIR as he crawled onto the couch "nothing for now" said Zim "But if she knows who we really are-" "She would be taken care of" said the Gravemaker, he whipped out a revolver from his coat and fired.

The shot struck a butterfly that was fluttering past the window opposite of them and it burst into flames.

* * *

On Planet Irk Tallest Xale was in her office, sorting through a mountain of reports when the doors opened and a small female Irken barged in.

The Irken was dressed in a General's uniform, she was an average sized Irken with violet eyes, curled antennas and a long scar that ran across her face. The Irken general bowed low and sat herself down in the chair across from the Tallest.

Tallest Xale, without looking up from the mountains of paper on her desk, greeted her "General Tak, what can i do for you on this fine day?"

General Tak smiled and spoke "I heard a little rumor fluttering around the Capitol" "And what is that?" asked Tallest Xale, she crumpled a few documents and tossed them aside.

General Tak's eyes gleamed "Zim is alive" Tallest Xale froze and looked up at the General.

She sighed saying "Yes, he is" "And what do you plan on handling him?" asked the General.

The Tallest sighed "Nothing, yet" "nothing?" said Tak incredulously "You are doing nothing?"

The Tallest stared at Tak "What will you have me do? we are at peace"

"Yes but the biggiest and most dangerous idiot in the whole galaxy is still alive" said Tak, her tone was growing harsh "you should take measures to ensure that he dosen't destroy that peace, have you forgotten what he did in Operation Impending doom 1?"

"No i have not" said Tallest Xale, she closed her sapphire eyes and rubbed her forehead "But I can't mobilize any of the military's reasources without drawing attention from the public" the Tallest got up and glided over to the wide window that gave a majestic view of the Irken city below

"For years these people believed that Zim was a war hero who died on on a backwater planet for his empire, so they symbolized him and the rest of those who have fallen all those years ago, they celebrate the contributions they made to the empire" she turned to the general saying sternly "but now that he's alive they are awaiting his return, even half of the military believe that he's a legend, thanks to my predecessors tampering with historical records. It wouldn't look good if the people's favorite Tallest and the most famous general murder him in cold blood."

General Tak frowned, she muttered shaking her head "this is a nightmare"

"Indeed" said Tallest Xale, she glided back to her desk "And I know what he did to you and i sympathize with you but my hands are tied, i can't do anything".

General Tak nodded then left the Tallest's office.

As she left she muttered "Maybe you can't do anything but i can" Tak clenched her fist and made her way to the elevator.

End of chapter

* * *

**(a/n: well there you have it ladies and gents, i hoped you enjoyed that. please review.)**


	5. Act 5: Fools Gold

**(a/n: here you go and enjoy. don't forget to review!)**

* * *

Act 5: Fools Gold

The Gravemaker pulled himself onto the topmost branch of the tree with ease.

His human and cybernetic eyes scanned the vast forest, quickly comparing it to an old photograph he held in his hand

"Well?" called Zim from down below, he tapped his foot impatiently on the forest floor

"Overgrown but its familiar" replied the Gravemaker, he jumped off the branch and he dropped back to earth, gracefully landed on his feet without any incident.

A day after the visit from Princess Bubblegum and friends Zim had begun his operations again. He had the base computer run an analysis on the scans he did on Princess Bubblegum and her friends but it was still in the process of coming up with conclusive results.

So, while the computer continued analyzing the scans, he decided to go ahead with continuing his plans for world domination.

First step was to find a secret armory that Zim built before the human race blew itself to Hell.

Zim lead the way through the thick forest, followed closely by the Gravemaker and GIR.

GIR was perched on the assassin's shoulder singing theme songs to various cartoons.

"-Absorbing and yellow is he, Sponge-man Square something guy!" screamed GIR, the Gravemaker just hummed along and Zim just kept growling at the two, "Silence, silence, silence!"

"Come on sing!" said GIR "It's fun!"

"Its not fun, its annoying!" hissed Zim.

He glared at GIR saying "Now be quiet while I find the hatch" suddenly Zim bumped into a large metal hatch that jutted out of the ground and he crumpled to the ground "Found it" said GIR and the Gravemaker in unison.

Zim muttered curses in Irken as he rubbed his forehead and scrambled to his feet.

He looked at the hatch then said "this is it" he turned to the Gravemaker, "Open it" the assassin nodded and approached the hatch.

He grabbed the cover, tore off the lock and opened the lid with ease.

The assassin stepped aside "Wait here for a minute, then you follow" said Zim as he climbed over the edge and then down the ladder, descending into the hidden armory.

* * *

After a few minutes of climbing down the ladder, Zim's foot reached the solid floor and he hopped off the ladder. He pulled out a glowing orb from his Pak, its soft white light pierced the darkness that filled the room.

Zim saw a few control consoles, a few large metal conduits that ran along the walls and he saw a door on the far side of the room.

Zim realized that he was standing in the control room. The room contained the main computer that controlled the air ventilation and the power in the base and a secondary consol that controlled the base's defenses.

The armory doubled as an emergency base, in the event that humans discovered his base, Zim could escape his home base and hide in the armory. Zim strolled over to the main control consol and he began typing in commands.

Slowly, the armory's main power generator came on followed by ventilation, draining the base of musky air and producing cool, clean air. Lastly the lights came on, bringing the room into view.

Zim looked up and saw a stasis pod, containing a single being. Zim punched in a few commands and the stasis pod hissed, the glass lid slid away and the being floated out, dazed and confused

"Minimoose" said Zim "It is good to see you again"

Minimoose squeaked, Zim shook his head "No it is not time, apparently thanks to the Dib monkey we overshot our target by a thousand years" Minimoose groaned and looked to the floor, looking sad.

Zim smiled "Don't worry, we're still going to take over the earth and this time, the Tallest is going to throw us a party when we get home!" the miniature moose perked up a little.

The Gravemaker just dropped down from the opening in the ceiling with GIR still on his shoulder, holding tightly to the assassin's neck.

GIR spotted Minimoose "Hi!" he screamed, Minimoose squeaked happily. GIR hopped off his shoulder and ran over to Minimoose. The two began dancing around the control room.

The Gravemaker put his hands in his pockets, looked around the control room "So what's the plan boss?"

"Why should I tell you anything about my ingenious plan?", said Zim, still typing away at the control consol.

Zim felt a cold feeling run through him, he looked up and saw the Gravemaker towering over him fixing him with a glare.

The Gravemaker said curtly "Because I won't be able to function properly if I don't have foreknowledge of what you are planning, so you will tell me everything about this plan, so I may perform efficiently".

Zim felt a bead of sweat run down his cheek. Even thought the Gravemaker obeys him and there were protocols that ensured that he would never harm him, he still terrified Zim.

Zim managed to speak "Ok"

the assassin smiled "Good", he backed away from Zim a few inches.

Zim coughed "My plan is to conquer the earth the old fashion way"

"bribing politicians?" guessed the Gravemaker

"nachos?" guessed GIR

"squeak!" guessed Minimoose.

Zim shook his head "no, but you're close Minimoose" Minimoose squeaked happily. Zim crossed his arms "No, I plan on using an army of death bots to take over the world"

"Ohhhh" said all three of Zim's minions in unison. Zim grinned smugly "I know, I know I'm a genius"

"No its not that" said the Gravemaker, crossing his arms "its just that…it sounds like you just came with that at the last minute"

"I didn't" said Zim, looking offended.

In fact Zim had spent four weeks coming up with it "Besides you're just jealous of my genius brain meats" sniffed Zim.

The Gravemaker just rolled his eyes "Whatever you say" there was soft beep from the consol "proximity alert" said an automated voice.

Zim scowled at the consol "What now" he pounded on a few keys and a view screen appeared on the wall.

The screen came to life, displaying a live image of the surface. The image flickered and it zoomed in on a small group of beings that were marching through the forest. Zim exclaimed "Not them again!" on the screen was Finn, Jake, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum.

Princess Bubblegum was at the front of the group holding an aged scroll and they were marching towards the armory.

Zim grabbed his antennas in frustration. He racked his mind for a solution "What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?!" Minimoose squeaked a suggestion, Zim shook his head "no that won't work, we don't have enough time for that".

Zim looked to the Gravemaker "You! Go up there and send them away!"

the assassin sighed "Fine" he pealed off his black coat revealing the casual clothes that he wore underneath.

The Gravemaker pulled off his hat and tossed it aside, revealing his spiky black and grey hair. The cybernetic implants melted into his flesh and his robotic eye shifted and twisted till it became a normal human eye. Within seconds the Gravemaker had changed into the human known as Marcus

"Now hurry and get rid of them" barked Zim

"Yes, master" grumbled Marcus.

Marcus scurried up the ladder and out of the secret armory.

* * *

Up above Princess Bubblegum studied the map in her hands carefully.

After meeting Zim and Marcus, the group decided to continue their treasure hunt the next morning. At dawn they all met up at Finn and Jake's house and they have been following the map for hours and they were now in the middle of a forest, with no sign of any treasure.

Marceline floated above the group lazily "We've been at this for hours, can we please stop for a moment?"

"Alright" sighed Princess Bubblegum, looking up from the map.

The four stopped to rest after hours of hiking.

Finn sat down on a boulder "So PB, what's this treasure we're looking for?"

"Its called 'the treasure of the demon empress' it is said to have untold riches and a trove of lost items that are rumored to be beyond value" said Princess Bubblegum as she sat down on a tree stump.

Marceline sat on the ground with her back against the boulder Finn was sitting on "Sounds interesting but how did you know all of this?"

"It was in a book I found in the library" said Princess Bubblegum "It was the same book where I found the map" "What did it say exactly?" asked Jake.

Princess Bubble gum frowned "the author's account talked about finally escaping a cursed land and that he was being hunted" Princess Bubblegum scratched her chin

"What else did it say?" asked Finn.

Princess Bubblegum shrugged "I don't know, it became incoherent and there was small scribble that said that he died a week after the last entry in the book".

An eerie silence fell on the group and they heard a twig snap, the four jumped to their feet. Finn swung his red sword towards the source of the sound but stopped, standing there was Marcus.

He wore a red flannel shirt, jeans and dark red shoes. He held up his hands a little "Sorry if I scared you"

"Marcus" said Finn, sounding a little relieved, he lowered his weapon "What are you doing here?"

"Just taking a jog" Marcus said casually.

He leaned against a tree "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for treasure" said Jake. Marcus's eyebrows rose "Really? Can I help?"

"Sure" said Finn.

Marcus smiled "Thanks" he approached the group "Nice to see you again ladies" he nodded to Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. The princess smiled a little, her face turned a darker shade of pink, Marceline nodded back at Marcus "nice to see you too" said Marceline.

Truthfully she was sort of happy to see Marcus again, he was nice to be around. Something about him lightened the general mood of the group.

Marcus clapped his hands together "So, may I have a look at the map?"

"Sure" said Princess Bubblegum, handing the map to him. Marcus unrolled the map and scanned it.

After a minute of silence he rolled it back up saying "Well so far you're heading in the right direction but from what I saw, I would say we should head in…" he pointed towards a nearby mountain range "That direction until we find a cave"

"We're so close" said Finn, sounding excited.

Suddenly Finn took off running towards the mountain "Come on lets go!" he vanished into the forest.

Marcus grinned, "I like his attitude!" he took off running after him, followed by Marceline, Jake and the princess.

* * *

Zim watched as Marcus and the rest of the group, head away from the secret armory.

The Irken sighed in relief "Phew, glad that I had the guidance chip implanted in him" Zim scratched his head "Now on to business" he turned and walked out of the control room.

He trudged through a small hall till he reached a door, the doors slid aside revealing a spacious room.

The room was large enough to contain a dozen large aircraft. Zim walked in and he froze "W-wha, eh huh?!" instead of being greeted by the sight of his army of robots he saw nothing but mountains of scrap metal that stretched as far as his eyes could see.

Zim rushed into the sea of scrap metal, his eyes darted all over the decimated army of robots "What, Who?" muttered Zim.

His eyes darted around the room for a sign when he spotted something. He spotted a large hole in the wall that led to a dark tunnel.

Zim scowled "Dib, always Dib" he approached the tunnel, he looked in to the dark tunnel then back into the room "If he found my armory then…" he rushed over to the far side of the room opposite of the destroyed robots. He placed a hand on a panel of the wall and a section of the wall slid away revealing a small compartment.

When Zim saw that it was empty he let out a string of curses, he then turned back to the tunnel "Even a thousand years after their end, humans are still a pain".

Zim frowned "How could Dib have known about the container?" a single name came to his mind but he shook his head "No, she couldn't have known. I mean she's just a stupid human, there's no way she could've known, could she?"

Zim's voice wavered and he stood alone among the ruins of his robot army wondering where his stolen container could have gone.

A cold sensation crept into his stomach.

If Zim didn't get the container back, someone would open it and if they open it, it would be the end of the world. Again.

* * *

After a few minutes of running the group came to the edge of the forest and they saw at the top of steep slope that led to the base of the mountain was a cave.

The mouth of the cave was wide and it had stalactites along the upper part, making it look like the mouth of a monster.

Finn looked into the cave, his eyes squinted "Its kinda dark in there"

"I might have something for that" said Marcus, he reached into his pockets and he pulled out a small flashlight. Marcus switched on the flashlight and he marched into the cave, followed by Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline.

The group walked deeper and deeper into the cave, it got darker and darker.

With only Marcus's flashlight lighting the way, the group went around a corner and they stopped.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Finn at what they found.

Ahead of them was a spacious cavern filled with mountains of gold, jewels and boxes overflowing with valuables. On the domed ceiling were massive blue crystals that gave off a bright blue light, making the sea of jewels and gold glitter.

Marcus whistled "Quite a bit of gold"

"Amazing" breathed Princess Bubblegum

"Cool" said Marceline.

Marcus grinned, "What are we doing standing here with our jaws hanging open? Lets go!" he took off running and he dived into the nearest pile of gold. Pretty soon everyone else followed his example.

Princess Bubblegum began going through a box filled with old books and antique figurines.

Finn and Jake were playing around with old weapons that lay strewn all around and Marceline floated above them studying a large ruby in her hands.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the group they were being observed. Perched atop a pyramid of perfectly stacked gold bars was a crystal skull.

Inside one eye socket was a camera with a fisheye lens, giving the observer a full panoramic view of the cavern and the intruders.

The lens whirred a little, zooming in one three particular members of the group.

* * *

Marceline sat on a pile of boxes looking around the sea of treasure "I got to say Bonnibel, this has been a nice little diversion but I'm a little disappointed"

"Why?" asked Princess Bubblegum

"I thought that we would run into some sort of monster or something, you know? A treasure this big would have some sort of security, wouldn't it?"

Princess Bubblegum scratched her chin "I guess, usually maps would have a little warning about treasures having guardians but this map didn't have any mention of a guardian or a curse or anything"

"Strange" mused Marcus.

Marceline glanced over to Marcus and saw him sitting in a golden throne at the top a massive mound of gold, with a crown on his head and large jewel encrusted medallions around his throat, making him look like a king.

He studied the rings on his hand "It is strange that someone would leave all this valuable treasure in a cave unguarded but that's not the strange part"

Marceline's eye brow rose "What's the strange part?"

"What's strange is that all this treasure hasn't been taken yet, I mean its in a cave that anyone could walk in with no trouble and they could just walk out with it at all but it seems to me that this treasure has been undisturbed, unless…" Marcus trailed off and he stared off into the crystals on the ceiling.

Marceline frowned "Marcus?" Marcus's eyes just glided around the cavern quietly till his eyes landed on something.

He rose from the throne and he jumped off the mountain of gold, he tossed the crown, medallions and rings aside "We got to go"

"What? We just got here" said Finn

"I know but we need to leave, now" said Marcus, his tone growing urgent.

Finn, Jake and Princess Bubblegum began making their way towards the entrance of the cavern. Marceline followed after them but she stopped, she turned and saw Marcus pull a thin, curved sword with a blue scabbard from a nearby pile of gold "Marcus, what are you doing?"

he glanced back as he tied the scabbard to his side "Go, I'll be right behind you" he tossed his flashlight to her and he took off running back into the sea of gold and jewels.

Marceline hesitated a little then followed after Finn, Jake and Princess Bubblegum.

* * *

Marcus sprinted past mountains of platinum bars and gold coins.

He weaved through the maze of treasure till he reached his destination.

Nestled in between two large statues of knights was a small maroon colored metal box with the black Irken empire insignia on its lid. The box was roughly the size of a tennis ball so Marcus scooped up the box in his hand, shoved it in his pocket and he took off running back to the entrance.

The ceiling crystals started dimming and he saw a shadow move in the corner of his eye.

Quickly he drew his katana and swung it effortlessly.

The blade slashed through something solid as if it were made of warm butter, there was a horrible scream and a loud thud. Marcus didn't have time to see what he cut down and he didn't care, he just kept running.

On any given day, he would stay and slaughter all his opponents but since he was with the enemy and with Irken cargo in hand, he had no choice but to flee carefully and try not to blow his cover at the same time.

More shadows moved in the corner of his eye, he saw one try to strike him but he just vaulted over the enemy's strike and slice off what looked like a limb.

Another scream pierced the air and more shadows moved to intercept him.

Marcus just smirked "Fools" he pulled out long dagger from his pocket and he launched himself into the wall of opponents with both blades in hand.

One by one his opponents fell, his blades sliced through flesh and bone easily, they tried to strike him down but he just evaded their strikes and swipes gracefully.

Marcus reached the other side of the wall of opponents, he sheathed the sword "It was a blast but I really must run" with that he departed the cavern of treasure.

* * *

Marcus had memorized the path back to the surface so he didn't need to see where he where he was going. He heard loud howls emanating from the bowels of the cave as he approached the exit up ahead.

The shadowy creatures bounded after him, one raised its claw like limb to strike but Marcus spun around with one of his pistols in hand and he fired a shot that struck the lead creature in the skull.

It tumbled and caused the others to trip over its corpse. Marcus burst through the cave entrance and into the sunlight.

One of the creatures skidded to a halt at the threshold of the cave. He finally saw what tried to kill him.

It was a large, lizard like creature with a large scaly body, massive muscled arms and legs. The creature was twice the size of Marcus. It had a bat like head, large sharp claws and milky eyes.

The creature let out a low whine and it retreated into the cave.

Marcus let out a sigh of relief, he saw Finn run over to him "Dude are you ok?"

"Yeah" said Marcus, his heart was hammering away in his chest

"What were those things?" said Jake

"I don't know but I'm glad they don't like sunlight" said Marcus, he scratched his cheek "I think we should put some distance between us and the cave, once night starts, I don't want to be anywhere near here"

"Agreed" said Jake, Finn and Princess Bubblegum.

* * *

After a few minutes into their journey back through the forest, Marcus plopped down beneath a nearby tree breathing heavily "I need a break"

Marceline sat down beside him, she smiled a little "Quite the thrill back there"

"Yeah" nodded Marcus "Its not everyday that you find a cave full of treasure and get chased by murderous cave dwelling monsters".

Marceline nodded "Yeah" she looked at Marcus "So what were you doing running back into the cave?" "I thought that I dropped something" said Marcus "But it turns out I didn't and I ended up running into those things".

Marceline nodded again "Yeah, but how did you know that those creatures would attack?"

"I didn't" said Marcus "But I knew something was off about that cave, the treasure just gave me this bad vibe. It was like a lure to bring in hapless adventurers and once they got nice and comfortable among the gold, the creatures would strike".

Marceline's eyebrows rose "Really?"

Marcus shrugged "I don't know, but that's my theory anyway".

Marceline smiled and she noticed that on Marcus's wrist was a tattoo. The tattoo was of a snake devouring its own tail. Marceline's eyes narrowed, she had seen the tattoo somewhere before but she just couldn't remember.

Marcus noticed her worried look and asked, "Are you ok?"

Marceline blinked, looking up at Marcus "Yeah, I'm fine" but she really wasn't.

The group returned to where Marcus had joined them and he departed the group, carrying the curved sword in hand.

Later the group returned to Finn and Jake's home and they all parted ways.

* * *

Irken General Tak navigated the crowded streets of Mavros with ease.

She had secretly departed the Irken Capitol in her personal spacecraft and had landed on the bustling planet of Avorn.

It was a major planet that traders, merchants and outlaws frequent. A perfect place to hire an assassin, thought General Tak.

Tak knew she couldn't kill anyone without the general public noticing her movements. If the public discovers her attempt to murder Zim, now a hero of the nation, she would be stripped of her rank and she would be punished harshly.

So the only alternative is to hire an assassin to kill Zim.

Tak pushed through the crowded market till she reached her destination, a bar with a sign that read "_The Red Shadow, bar and grill" _she pushed open the door and walked in.

Dim lamps hung on the ceiling and neon signs hanging on the walls lit the bar.

It was empty for the most part but sitting at the bar was a woman dressed in a tattered blue coat that was once part of a uniform for a military that was defeated long ago.

She had long white hair, pale skin and one golden eye, the other eye was covered by a brown patch.

The woman downed the glass in her hand and demanded another

"Malice Lovelace I presume?" said Tak.

The woman named Malice glanced at Tak suspiciously "Who's asking?"

"General Tak of the Irken Empire" said Tak.

Malice smiled a little "Sit down General and have a drink"

"I'm not here for a drink, I'm here because I am in need of you're services" said Tak.

Malice took another swig of her drink "Why would you need of my services? I thought the wars were over"

"They are" said Tak, growing impatient "I need you to eliminate a rouge element".

Malice Lovelace's single golden eye stared at the General sternly "My services don't come cheap"

"I know" grunted Tak, she reached into her pack and withdrew a translucent card that had numbers on it "Twenty thousand monies" said Tak "Another twenty for when the job is done"

Malice nodded "Sounds reasonable" she downed the last of her drink, sighing with relief "That's good stuff" mumbled Malice.

Malice took the card "So whose the target?"

"An Irken named Zim" said Tak, a nasty smile started to form on her lips.

* * *

In a secret room filled with room beneath the cavern of gold and jewels sat two men.

One man reviewed the footage the skull camera had captured and the other just watched

"Surprising" whispered the second man as the dark haired boy sliced the bat-lizard in half with a single swing

"I know and look" said the first.

He hit a few keys on the keyboard and the footage froze, the image zoomed in on the boy's face and a photo of him appeared on the screen.

The second man gapped "That is him, but how?" "I'm wondering that myself sir" said the first man.

The second man looked at another screen containing the image of a boy in a bear like hat and a dark haired girl, he adjusted his glasses "They look familiar as well, did you run a search?"

"I got a match on the girl but the boy is a total mystery" said the first.

The second man squinted at the boy "He looks like-"

"I know, I thought that myself but I just wanted you're opinion on this" said the first.

The second man adjusted his tie "Monitor the surface in case they return, I'll sound the all clear" he turned and walked towards the door "But what of the Empress?" the second man stopped.

He turned to his subordinate "I'll tell her majesty of the assassin but we don't have conclusive evidence on the boy's identity, so I say we keep most of the details about him to ourselves"

"But she knows" said the second man, fearfully "She always knows, and if she catches you, you know what she'll do"

"Then I'll mention him but try not to mention the details" said the first man "I mean if she found out that the boy resembles-" "resembles who?" said a cold voice.

The two men froze.

They turned towards the door and they saw standing their was a woman cloaked in dark violet, her eyes glowed scarlet, her skin pale as the moon and her hair purple and spiky.

"Empress Membrane!" they cried, bowing their heads.

The empress held up a hand "At ease, now what is it that you didn't want to tell me" she strode into the room and marched up to the view screens.

She noted the dark haired teen with the sword "I had a feeling that he would be back, I'm sorta glad too, its nice to have someone from the old days again" she glanced over to the screen containing the girl "The girl _is_ familiar and-" she stopped on the boy in the hat.

Her hand touched the screen "It can't be" she murmured

"We didn't want to inform you about the boy because-" began the first man but was cut short when the Empress threw him a death glare "I know what you were thinking but you were wrong"

She turned back to the frozen image of the boy named Finn "I recognize my own flesh and blood when I see it".

The two men fidgeted "What shall we do your majesty?" asked the first man.

Empress Gaz Membrane just waved a hand "Nothing, for the moment. observe the boy and when the time is right, take him".

the second man asked "What of the box my lady?"

"What of it?" snorted Empress Gaz, she reached into her cloak and pulled out a sleek metal box with the irken empire's insignia on it "I have the real prize right here". She returned the box to her pocket, she turned and strode out of the room "Do please keep me informed of Finn's progress, I have missed my son dearly and i don't want you to lose him again" the door slammed shut leaving the two men shaking nerviously.

End of chapter

* * *

**(a/n: i hope you enjoyed it. what do you think of this chapter? well review and tell me)**


	6. Act 6: Ice and Steel

**(a/n: well here you go, another chapter. i hope you enjoy it. please review, it helps a lot. enjoy!)**

* * *

Act 6: Ice and Steel

Zim threw the small metal box against the wall of the lab as hard as he could, screaming every curse he knew.

Marcus just stood there staring at the destroyed box he had retrieved from the cave.

"Wrong box?" said Marcus, frowning at the furious Irken

"Yes" seethed Zim and he shook a piece of paper at the cyborg assassin "Just look what was left in it".

Marcus accepted the paper and saw a message written in elegant lettering "_Zim, if you are reading this, then my hunch was correct and you're alive. Dib found you're other secret base and destroyed all you're robots but I found you're little toy. I gotta say its quiet fascinating. Anyway I have an empire to run, see you around. I guess- Gaz" _

Marcus looked up from the note muttering "Well this is new"

"the Dib monkey's sister had stolen it!" growled Zim, he just threw more things at the walls screaming more curses.

Marcus watched as the Irken went off on a rant "That stupid human, she doesn't know what she's messing with!"

Marcus held up a hand "Hold on, just calm down and tell me what was in the box"

Zim stopped, took a deep breath and explained, "That box contained a very advanced piece of Irken technology, I was planning on using it to finally crush the humans but now that its in the hands of Gaz, who knows how much damage she could cause"

Marcus nodded slowly "Ok, so what do we do?"

"We find her and we steal back that box" said Zim, he began pacing around the lab

"But we don't know where she could be" said Marcus, he leaned against a table "She could be anywhere on earth, hell for all we know she could be dead already and had the box hidden somewhere nobody would think to look"

Zim looked up at Marcus, eyes wide and antennas drooping "Its over, Zim is doomed and I am trapped on this accursed planet forever!" he dropped to his knees and let out an earsplitting scream that almost shattered every glass object in the base.

Marcus clapped his hands over his ears and screamed at Zim "Would you stop screaming for a moment!" Zim continued screaming

"Shut the hell up!" screamed Marcus.

Zim stopped and he looked at the cyborg irritably "What!"

"Just take a look at this footage" said Marcus, he tapped the side of his head, wirelessly linking up to the base's computer. A nearby computer screen came on. On the screen a video of a spacious cavern filled with gold came into view.

Zim saw Finn and Jake play around in the sea of gold. In the background he heard Princess Bubblegum and Marceline discussing something with Marcus but Marcus's voice went silent and the video zoomed in on a crystal skull that was perched atop a pyramid of gold bars.

The video froze, Zim stared at the screen then looked to Marcus "So?".

Marcus held up a finger "Watch" he tapped the side of his head again and the image zoomed in even further till it was just a matter inches from the eye socket,

Zim's red eyes widened "Is that?" Marcus nodded.

They both stared at the image of a camera lens in the eye socket of the crystal skull "I suspect that there were more of them" said Marcus, glancing at Zim "I doubt anyone on earth still possess this sort of surveillance technology, if so why use it to video tape a treasure trove"

Zim nodded "that is true, Gaz may be involved somehow"

"I say that's a good bet" said Marcus as he scratched his chin "She may have engineered those creatures who attacked us, I mean who else could create those things"

"Indeed" muttered Zim as he shuddered.

Gaz may be human but she was one of the few humans he truly feared. There were times where he thought that she wasn't human at all, that maybe she was something far more terrifying.

There was a beep "Analysis complete" said the monotone voice of the computer Zim let out a sigh of annoyance "Finally!".

Two day's earlier, Zim had the base computer scan and analyze the DNA of Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline so he could understand his enemies better but the computer had encountered some troubles analyzing the DNA, so Zim had to recalibrate the base's systems in order to get a better picture of the DNA samples.

The video on the screen changed to a picture of four different DNA strands.

Zim and Marcus leaned in closer to the screen, Zim muttered under his breath "Strange".

One DNA strand was completely pink and had some extra parts on it, another one was grey and was missing parts in its helix. One of them was yellow and was covered in long strands of a strange material, the last one was the only one that looked normal.

Marcus pointed to the normal one "I'm guessing that's Finn's"

Zim nodded "It is, but these other ones are bizarre" he pointed to the pink, yellow and grey strands "These have an entirely new set of genetic coding that I've never seen before" but he placed a finger on the grey one "This one is the closest to a human's DNA, but its damaged beyond repair"

Marcus's eyes narrowed "So they're not human"

"the Princess and Marceline aren't human" said Zim, shaking his head "but they're humanoid".

The two continued staring at the screen when suddenly the computer spoke up "Sir, there's someone at the door" Zim and Marcus looked at each other, realizing that GIR was in the living room alone so they tore themselves away from the screen and rushed to the nearest elevator.

* * *

The elevator deposited them in a broom closet near the kitchen.

The two tumbled out of the closet, Zim and Marcus went to the living room where they saw GIR sitting on the couch with Marceline and Finn, watching TV.

Zim froze, he didn't have his disguise on so he dived behind a wall that separated the kitchen and living room.

Marcus raised an eyebrow "I'm glad to see that you're making yourselves comfortable on my couch" the two guests looked up from the TV

"Oh hey Marcus" greeted Finn

"Hey" said Marceline.

Marcus nodded at the two "So what brings you two around this neck of the woods?"

Finn jumped up from the couch "Princess Bubblegum has been kidnapped by the Ice King"

Marcus frowned "The who?" "The Ice King" said Finn "He's this total nerd who kidnaps princesses and tries to marry them"

"That's sounds kinda creepy" said Marcus, he made a face "Hasn't he heard of online dating" Finn and Marceline sniggered

"No" laughed Marceline "Besides nobody would date him, he's a total creep".

Marcus smiled "Ok, so what dose this have to do with me?"

Finn got down on his knees "We need you're help dude, Ice King has got Princess Bubblegum and a dozen other princesses. Jake and I tried to save them but Ice King caught Jake. I tried to save him myself but the Ice King's snow monsters had me outnumbered"

"And let me guess" said Marcus " Nobody else will help and you want me to help you and Marceline to free him and the princesses?"

"I'm not helping" said Marceline, sitting back comfortably in the couch "I'm only coming along to watch Finn beat the snot out of that old nerd".

Marcus heard the communicator in his ear come on and Zim's voice whispered, "_Go with them, battle this Ice king and gain the trust of the native people, it is vital to the mission_"

Marcus sighed, feeling a little annoyed but nodded "ok I'll go".

Finn jumped to his feet "Great, lets go!" he turned and bolted out the front door.

Marceline looked at what Marcus was wearing "Maybe you should put a coat on, where we're going, it's going to be cold."

Marcus looked down at his clothes, he wore only a red t-shirt, jeans and red sneakers "Give me a second" he went back to the broom closet and pulled out his black coat and katana from the cluttered floor.

He wrapped himself up in the tattered black coat and he kept the katana hidden in his coat "ok, lets go" said Marcus, walking into the living room with his coat on.

The two bolted out the door after Finn, the door swung shut after Marcus, leaving Zim and GIR alone.

Zim jumped out of his hiding place "Phew, that was a close one, good thing I got the Gravemaker to take care of those pesky creatures"

Zim rubbed his hands together "well back to the lab" he turned to leave but he heard a knock on the door.

He marched to the door grumbling "Who could it be this time?".

Zim quickly put on his disguise and he opened the door. Standing there was a tall, slim woman dressed in a blue coat. She had long blond hair, an eye patch over one eye and a normal eye with a gold colored iris

"Excuse me, but are you Irken Invader Zim" asked the stranger in a soft voice.

Zim nodded "Yes, I am Zim"

the woman sighed "Oh finally!"

"Who are you?" asked Zim, eyeing the woman with suspicion.

The woman smiled, she reached into her coat and withdrew a high tech pistol. She leveled it to Zim's head "I'm the person who's going to kill you" Zim's eyes widened and he swore in Irken.

* * *

Finn, Marcus and Marceline reached the Ice Kingdom in a matter of minutes.

They climbed to the top of a mountain that was close to the Ice king's home. Marcus eyed the ice king's home "So what do we do?"

"We break in, beat the crud out of the Ice King and free the prisoners" said Finn.

Marcus shook his head "No, that won't work"

"Oh" mumbled Finn.

Marcus scratched his chin for a moment then he smiled a little "I got an idea".

* * *

Marcus marched up to the base of the Ice King's home with Marceline following from a distance

"You think this is a good idea?" she asked.

Marcus shrugged "It's the only idea we have" he glanced back her "If you have a better idea, lets hear it!"

Marceline just shook her head "Whatever" she ascended higher to watch the spectacle from a safe distance.

Marcus just turned back to the Ice king's home "Ok, show time" he took a deep breath and shouted "Hey Ice King, you big dork!" there was a loud crash and an old man with a long white beard rushed to the window.

His skin was blue, he had a long crooked nose and a glittering gold crown on his head "Who dares trespass on the Ice King's property?" yelled the old man

"Who dares to question my dare!" retorted Marcus.

The man blinked "What?"

"Never mind" said Marcus, he put his hands into his pockets "I heard you've been kidnapping princesses"

"Yeah, so what!" said the Ice King

"Let them go" demanded Marcus.

Ice King scowled "No, I'm not going to let my potential brides go" Marcus grimaced "Man that's just creepy"

"Its not" said Ice king, defensively

"Yeah it is" said Marcus "Just ask anyone and they'll tell you that its creepy" Ice King growled "I'll show you!" the man's hand glowed blue-white and aimed at Marcus.

Ice King fired a bolt of energy at Marcus.

Marcus just stepped to one side casually, the bolt hit the ground where Marcus was standing moments before creating a pillar of ice.

Marcus just shook his head "Man you need help, have you considered couples counseling?" the Ice king hurled another bolt of ice magic at Marcus but Marcus just jumped aside

"I mean its really not healthy to go around kidnapping women and trying to marry them" said Marcus

The Ice King let out an exasperated scream "Stay still won't you!" he shot another bolt of magic at Marcus.

Marcus just ducked and the bolt shot over him and struck a penguin, encasing it in ice "Gah! Gunter!"

Ice King flew out of the window and he rushed to the penguin's side "Oh Gunter I'm sorry for freezing you!" he touched the ice block and then shot Marcus an angry glare "Look at what you've done!"

"What I've done?" said Marcus, his eyebrows rose "Now, now I didn't do that, you did. The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that you have one"

The Ice King growled, his hands glowed blue and suddenly the snow around them began to shift and form. Within seconds Marcus found himself surrounded by massive humanoid creatures made of snow, ice and rock "Get him!" screamed the Ice King, with that the snow creatures swarmed Marcus.

* * *

Marceline watched as the snow golems swarmed Marcus like a pack of hungry wolves. Part of her wanted to help but she didn't want to get involved.

Within seconds the snow golems were upon Marcus but suddenly there was a flash of silver and three snow golems fell to the icy ground, all missing their arms and heads.

Marceline blinked in surprise. The Ice King gapped "What just happened?" there was another flash of silver and three more snow golems were cut down. The snow golems backed away a little, revealing an unharmed Marcus.

He stood in the center of the hoard of snow golems, in his hand was a slim, curved sword.

Ice King growled "Well don't just stand there, kill him!" the golems hesitated for a moment but they obeyed.

They advanced on Marcus, who just assumed a stance.

He gripped the sword with both hands, once the golems got within his range, he swung at an inhuman speed.

The blade became a blur of sliver that cut through the snow, ice and rock with ease.

In one swing he brought down two snow golems. He quickly spun around and cut down three more. One golem made entirely of rock and ice launched itself at Marcus.

Marceline expected Marcus to dodge but he just stood his ground. Marcus raised the sword then brought it down on the golem, cleaving it in two.

Within a matter of minutes he cut down the last of the golems, leaving Ice King, Marceline and himself alone in the snow.

Ice King rubbed his eyes "Whoa!" Marcus turned to the Ice King, he leveled it to the Ice King "Now, about those princess's"

Ice King backed away and held up his hands stuttering "H-hey now, just don't do anything crazy. I'm sure we can come to an understanding".

From her position above the two, Marceline's eyes narrowed. She noticed that the Ice King's hands were beginning to glow but the glow was so faint that it was almost unnoticeable.

Marceline was about to warn Marcus but it was too late.

The Ice King quickly lowered his hand and hurled a bolt of ice magic at Marcus. But Marcus just swatted the bolt aside with his sword, The Ice King blinked and unleashed a barrage of ice magic upon Marcus but the human just continued swatting aside the bolts of magic with ease.

The Ice King began to panic, he just doubled the amount of ice magic but Marcus just continued swatting them aside like they were nothing.

Marceline watched in awe as Marcus marched towards the Ice King, swatting his way though the barrage of ice bolts.

Marceline cheered "Come on Marcus, knock that crud out of that old geek!"

"Hey!" cried the Ice King indignantly "I'm not a geek, I'm cool!"

Marcus just shrugged "Keep telling yourself that".

Marceline chuckled as Marcus drew closer to the Ice King.

Suddenly Marceline felt a burning pain explode in her head and the world changed in a flash of light.

* * *

She found herself floating in a grey, cloudy sky and down below was a ruined city street.

The city was deathly silent with thick columns of smoke rising to the sky. In the street was a wall of broken down cars with corpses in olive green uniforms strewn across the street.

A cold feeling crept into her stomach "No" breathed Marceline.

She descended from the sky and landed on the street. Marceline glanced around the ruined street.

It was vaguely familiar, like it was a scattered dream she had long ago.

There was a faint scraping sound that made her look over to the other end of the street. She saw moving towards her was a single figure dressed in the same olive green uniform as the corpses.

It was a human male. He had dark hair and a pale complexion.

The young man marched down the street dragging a bloodstained saber, his face and uniform were drenched in blood as well. The young man's uniform was cut and torn in some areas; he wore a belt that had a scabbard dangling lazily as he walked.

He looked down at the corpses sadly, muttering a prayer of some sort.

The young man stopped a few feet away from Marceline and looked up at the sky muttering something that sounded like "_Told you Gerry, Told you I'd get them for ya"_.

He lowered his head and marched on past Marceline.

Marceline strained her eyes to see the name on the young man's uniform. She approached the young man cautiously, trying to stay out of sight.

She saw sewn on the left pocket on his chest was "_Corporal M. Abadeer, US Army"_ Marceline's eyes widened.

The young man stopped suddenly and turned around quickly, revealing a face that sent a chill down Marceline's spine.

Through a thick layer of grime, blood and sweat Marceline saw the grim face of Marcus staring directly at her.

Everything went bright and Marceline found herself back in the sky above the Ice Kingdom.

* * *

She looked around muttering "What the heck?" the vampire looked down and saw the Ice King laying in the snow, unconscious with Marcus, Finn, Jake and the recently freed princess's standing over him.

Marceline descended and landed beside Finn "What happened?" asked Marceline

"Finn freed the Princess's and helped me give the Ice King the beat down he deserved" answered Marcus, leaning on his sword like a crutch.

The princesses all thanked Marcus and Princess Bubblegum said something about a party but Marceline wasn't paying attention.

Marceline fixed Marcus with a suspicious look.

She now remembered where she had seen him before. But she just couldn't believe it. It was impossible for him to be there.

The last time Marceline had seen her older brother, Marcus Abadeer, was at his military funeral a thousand years ago.

* * *

Marcus trudged through the woods alone.

He had said his goodbyes to Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline then he made his way back home.

Marcus had helped Finn free the princesses from the clutches of the Ice King, for which they were very grateful.

One of them, a floating purple creature tried hitting on him saying that he was better looking than some guy named Brad but he just smiled, thanked her and avoided her for the rest time he spent in the Ice Kingdom.

Marcus got an odd feeling of off Marceline.

At the start of the journey to the Ice Kingdom, she was her usual, casual self but as they departed the Ice Kingdom, she just avoided Marcus and fixed him with odd looks.

Marcus snapped out of his thoughts when the base came into view. For the most part it was intact but the windows had large holes in them, the front door had some blast marks on it and it swung lazily on its hinges in the cool afternoon breeze.

_Intruders,_ thought Marcus as he drew his katana and broke into a sprint. He kicked in the door and entered the house, ready to cut down any intruder.

But he stopped and he lowered his blade. The inside was a complete mess. The floors and walls were covered in blast marks and melted cheese.

The ceiling coils were relatively untouched, a few dangled freely and unconnected to the base's main systems. Sitting on the couch was a bruised Zim and GIR who was completely covered in melted cheese. Sitting in-between them was an unconscious blond woman, with an eye patch and blue coat.

The woman was bound in chains, rope and duct tape.

Marcus sheathed his sword "What the hell happened around here?"

Zim just looked up at him saying smugly "She tried to kill Zim but she underestimated Zim's amazing skills"

Marcus raised an eyebrow "really?"

Zim nodded.

"What's with the cheese?" asked Marcus

"You don't want to know" said Zim.

Marcus nodded "Ok" he walked over and sat down besides the unconscious woman "So, whose she?" he jabbed a thumb at the woman.

Zim shrugged "I don't know"

"Should we interrogate her?" asked Marcus

"I guess" said Zim, rising from the couch.

Zim, GIR and Marcus made their way to the lower levels of the base with the woman in tow.

* * *

They reached a holding cell and Marcus placed her in a chair in the center of the small box like room.

The woman stirred and finally awoke "Ugh, what happened?"

"I, the mighty Zim, have bested you and you are now my prisoner!" announced Zim, sounding proud of himself.

The woman blinked a few times "I don't remember you fighting me, all I remember is that I shot at you, I missed and I chased you around for a little bit and I slipped and I woke up here"

Marcus sniggered but he stopped when Zim glared at him.

Zim turned back to the woman "Now, according to Irken Rules of war as my prisoner, you are hereby ordered to relinquish all information to me or else things will be uncomfortable"

the woman sighed, "Let me think".

She mulled it over for a second then said bluntly "No"

Zim growled "GIR! Release the monkeys!" Zim rushed out of the room and slammed the door shut. GIR pushed a button and there was a audible rumbling sound and some thuds. There was nothing but silence for a few minutes, Zim growled impatiently "What is going on in there?" he unbolted the door and flung it open, only to be greeted by a horrible smell.

Zim's eyes watered a little and he covered his face "Ugh, that is horrid" Marcus covered his nose "Oh my".

Lying around the floor around the woman, were several rotting corpses of rather large, intimidating monkeys Zim had stolen from a Zoo.

Marcus said aloud "There must have been something wrong their stasis tubes"

"Great" growled Zim, he pushed a button on his wrist computer.

A large hose descended from the ceiling and sucked up the rotting corpses.

The woman sighed in relief "You have no idea how long I've been holding my breath"

Zim asked "Are you ready to talk?"

"No" said the woman.

Zim was furious but Marcus placed a hand on the Irken's shoulder "Let me try something".

Marcus picked up GIR and whispered something in his ear. GIR listened intently and nodded "Uh huh…yeah…ok"

Marcus looked GIR in the eye "You got it?" "Uh huh" nodded GIR

Marcus smiled "Good" he tossed GIR into the holding cell saying "Go get her!" he slammed the door shut and bolted it shut.

Zim frowned "What did you tell him?" "You don't want to know" said Marcus.

After a few seconds of silence they heard the woman scream "Oh God! Oh my…have mercy!"

Zim grinned, "That's more like it"

"Ok, I'll talk!" screamed the woman. Marcus unbolted the door and opened it. Once the door opened, GIR bolted out the door giggling and the woman's screams stopped.

The two peered inside and saw the woman slumped in the chair, her hair was frazzled and her single eye was wide and filled with fear.

Zim leaned against the heavy metal door "Ready to talk?"

the woman nodded "Y-yes, just don't send that thing back in here" "Deal" said Zim.

The woman quickly explained that her name was Malice Lovelace and that she was hired by General Tak to kill Zim.

Zim blinked "What? Tak is a general?"

Malice nodded "Yes and quite the big shot in the military"

"Why kill Zim?" asked Marcus

"How did she become General? She wasn't even an Invader" said Zim to nobody in particular.

Malice just shrugged "I don't know, she said something about saving the galaxy from the universe's biggest idiot" "Hey!" cried Zim, indignantly.

Malice just shrugged "Hey don't blame me, she's the one who said it" Zim growled, "How dare she do this. There's only one thing to do now"

"Hide?" guessed Marcus

"Let me go?" guessed Malice

"Squeak!" squeaked Minimoose.

Everyone looked out into the hall and saw Minimoose floating there "Minimoose, how'd you get there?" asked Marcus Minimoose squeaked a response and Marcus nodded "Oh, that make's sense".

Zim frowned "Uh, no none of those answers. I will call the Tallest and tell her what happened!"

Marcus and Malice shared a concerned saying in unison "This won't end well".

* * *

Tallest Xale stood on the stage waving to the thousands of cheering and chanting Irkens.

The stage was in the middle of the Irken Capitol's main square, surrounded by a sea of irken's.

They were all there to celebrate the final day of the anniversary celebration.

Standing proudly next to Tallest Xale was General Tak, Admiral Skoodge, commander of the empire's fleet and General of the Orbital defense force, General Tenn.

The crowd cheered as the Tallest took center stage.

She raised a hand and the cheers died down "My people, my fellow Irkens. We are here yet again as Conquered Week comes to a close. I'm sure we all had a great time with the parties and various festivities but let us not forget the true meaning of Conquered Week.

It is a day to remember all those brave soldiers and Invaders who gave their lives in the service of their empire.

It is a time to celebrate them and appreciate all the efforts they contributed to the empire. Without them, we wouldn't be enjoying the peace and prosperity we enjoy now" the crowd cheered.

The Tallest grinned broadly "My fellow Irkens we-" but she was cut off when an irken with a jetpack soared over the crowd and landed next to the Tallest.

The Tallest frowned "What is it?"

"My Tallest, forgive me but you have an incoming transmission" said the Irken.

Tak heard the conversation and said to the Tallest "Answer it, maybe its Zim. We could always use a good laugh" the Tallest frowned "ok".

A massive screen rose from out of the ground behind the stage. It was large enough to be seen by every Irken present. The enlarged image of Zim came on the screen and the entire city erupted in cheers.

Zim blinked in surprise and bowed "Yes, I know. I'm amazing" said Zim, smiling a little.

Tallest Xale coughed "So Zim, how's you're mission going?"

"Quite fine really, until I was attacked by an assassin that sent to kill me" said Zim. Everybody went silent.

Tak went ridged and Tallest Xale's eyes widened "What?"

"A certain somebody sent an assassin to kill me" said Zim

"Who?" asked The Tallest

"Tak!" said Zim, jabbing a finger at the irken general. Every irken in the city gasped, Admiral Skoodge and General Tenn glared at Tak. Tallest Xale rounded on the general, who was fidgeting "What did you do?" hissed the Tallest.

Tak said defensively "I did only what was necessary to ensure the safety of our empire"

the Tallest growled "I told you not to do anything but now look at what you've done" the two looked and saw every Irken glaring at Tak, the crowd looked ready to form an angry mob at any moment.

Tak's eyes darted about the crowd and jabbed a finger at the screen "He's lying, he's a liar. He's not even a true invader!"

"Oh really?" chuckled Zim "Well here's some proof" Zim nodded to someone off screen and a blond woman was shoved in front of the screen.

She looked frazzled and exhausted "I am Malice Lovelace, and I had been hired by General Tak to kill Zim"

Zim reappeared on the screen, smirking at Tak "How's that for proof?".

Tak trembled with furiously trying to contain her anger. She couldn't believe it Zim had somehow bested her assassin and now was destroying her career. It was a nightmare that she couldn't awakened from.

Tak turned to the crowd, they were all glaring at her. She turned to General Tenn and Admiral Skoodge, the two had grim expressions on their faces. Tak wanted them to say something in her defense but it came as no surprise that they just turned away from her.

Skoodge always admired Zim and Tenn didn't really know Zim, she just thought he was just another invader who bravely died in the line of duty.

Tak finally turned to Tallest Xal.

The Tallest had a stern expression "I warned you" whispered the Tallest "I can't help you now, I must enforce the law"

"But-" began Tak but the Tallest interrupted her "Guards! Seize this traitor!" within seconds a dozen heavily armed Irkens swarmed the stage and tackled Tak.

As Tak was being handcuffed she heard the Tallest command sternly "Guards, take her to the Control Brains, they'll know how to deal with this…traitor" the crowd erupted into cheers, drowning Tak's screams of protest as they dragged her off the stage.

Tallest Xale muttered as Tak was dragged off the stage "I'm sorry my friend, it's out of my hands now" she dismissed the crowd and followed after the security escort to the Control Brains where they decided Tak's fate.

End of Chapter

* * *

**(a/n: well what do you think? Review and all that)**


	7. Act 7: The Other Side

**(a/n: here you go. Enjoy.)**

* * *

Act 7: The Other Side

Malice Lovelace wolfed down the last waffle on her plate. After swallowing the last piece of waffle, she sat back in the chair burping "Thanks for the chow".

Zim sat across from her, glaring at her with a look that could kill an entire city.

Marcus just sat beside Zim cleaning one of his pistols "You're welcome" said Marcus as he glanced at Zim.

Zim just grunted "Hmh" he got out of his chair and left the kitchen table.

After Tak was arrested and dragged off to the control brains to be judged for her assassination attempt on Zim, the Tallest said that Malice would be compensated for her troubles and that she was free to leave.

Malice agreed but there was a large glaring problem.

Malice couldn't leave Earth.

She couldn't leave Earth because a mysterious energy field messed up her ship's computer and power systems, causing her to crash back to Earth in a nearby forest.

Zim attempted to fly out into space with his Voot cruiser but his power systems failed as well and he dropped out of the sky like a stone.

After Zim crashed, Malice decided that she was going to stay with Zim and Marcus, since Zim's home was the only form of civilization within a hundred mile radius. Zim grudgingly allowed Malice to stay because she was a skilled killer and she agreed to assist Zim conquer Earth till her ship was repaired and the ship's systems reconfigured to break through the energy field surrounding Earth's upper atmosphere.

Marcus placed one of his guns on the table and picked up the other "Don't worry about him, he'll warm up to you eventually"

"Well I wouldn't blame him for acting like that" said Malice as she played around with a few strands of her own hair "I mean I would act like that if the person who tired to kill me is now living with me" Malice frowned "Actually that's pretty much how my marriage started"

"Is that so?" said Marcus, he spat on the gun and rubbed it till it gleamed

"Yep" sighed Malice, scratching her cheek "Although my marriage ended up with my husband getting filled with holes, I think this arrangement will have better results"

"Indeed it will" said Marcus, he returned his guns to their holsters "I'll make sure of it".

* * *

On Planet Irk, Irken General Tak stood before the massive metal Control Brain. After the big reveal of her attempt on Zim's life, she had been dragged to the Control Brain's chamber to be judged.

The Tallest had followed the security escort and had just ignored Tak the whole way.

Tallest Xale stood on a platform besides the metal behemoth.

The Control Brain spoke in a deep, electronic voice "_General Tak, you have been brought here for attempted assassination of a fellow officer of the Irken Military_"

"He's no longer an officer of the Irken Military" argued Tak "He single-handedly ruined Operation Impeding Doom 1 and was banished. When an Irken is banished, they lose all rights and protection of the law. Its on file, he's no longer an Irken soldier or citizen, so I had every right to kill him"

the Control Brain went silent for a moment as it searched through every file and document in its vast archives.

The Control Brain spoke "_There is no such record in my index_" Tak's heart skipped a few beats.

Without those records Tak was in serious trouble.

The Control Brain continued "_For breaking our laws, you are hereby re-encoded_" two metal cables slithered out of the ceiling and buried themselves in the access ports of her Pak.

A slight shock ran through her body and there was a small beep. Tak glanced up and saw on the large view screen above. It showed her current status. One second it read General and then in an instant it changed to Drone

"_From now on you are stripped of rank, status and privilege and are forthwith banished from the core worlds of the Irken Empire."_

Tak's jaw dropped open, she looked up at the Control Brain helplessly "no, you can't do this!".

All that hard work, all those years of clawing her way to the top vanished in the blink of an eye. Tak didn't want to go back to the outlying planets. The outer planets that clung to the fringes of the Irken Empire's territory were mostly lawless, crime infested frontiers, prison colonies or planets converted by the empire to serve its thriving industries.

The Control Brain ignored Tak's plea_ " you are sentenced to eighty six years of hard labor on the planet Foodcourtia and then you are to spend another eighty years on the planet Dirt" _Tak's eyes widened and her body trembled a little "No, no, no, no, no!"

"_Judgment has been passed" _droned the Control Brain "_Almighty Tallest, carry out the sentence"_

"Guards!" barked Tallest Xale.

Two Irken soldiers rushed into the room. Tallest Xale pointed at Tak's trembling frame "Put her on the first transport to Planet Dirt, immediately" the two Irkens saluted.

The two soldiers disconnected the wires from Tak's pak and they grabbed Tak's arms and dragged her out of the room.

Tak was thrashing and screaming "No! Please! I can't go back there! Please! Nooooo-" her voice was cut off when the doors slammed shut after her.

* * *

In his laboratory, Zim toyed with the device in his hands. The device was a long silver rod with a sharp, violet tip. Buttons and switches adorned the length of the rod, Zim hefted the device and he slowly inserted it between the bars of the cage. T

he tip brushed the large ball of brown fur lightly and there was a slight crackle of energy that ran along the surface of the ball of fur. The ball of fur shuddered and bounced around the cage till it came to a stop.

The ball of fur shifted, two eyes opened, followed by a large mouth filled with jagged teeth. The creature snarled and hissed threateningly at Zim but Zim just jabbed the creature with the metal rod again, sending a wave of energy and pain through the creature.

It twitched and toppled over, Zim just chuckled "That never stops being amusing".

Marcus entered the lab, wearing only jeans, a plain green t-shirt and socks. He stopped wearing his coat and hat because they kept having unexpected guests show up randomly so he decided that it would be easier to stay in his human guise, rather then keep switching back and forth.

Marcus crossed his arms "So whats the plan now boss?"

Zim smiled "I've gotten a new, ingenious plan" he gestured to the cage "First I will unleash an army of rabid weasels upon Princess Bubblegum"

Marcus nodded "Ok, and then?" Zim's mouth opened then shut.

Zim just shrugged "I don't know, I never gotten around to that part"

Marcus sighed "Ok, that sounds like a great plan"

"I knew you'd like it" said Zim, proudly. Marcus smiled "Yes but I think we should at least keep it as Plan B for now"

Zim nodded "Yes I see what you mean, but the weasels will be used for later though right?"

Marcus nodded hesitantly "Ok, but do you have anything else planned?"

Zim nodded and began rubbing his hands together like a mad scientist "Yes, yes I do" he giggled "Yes, this plan is so ingenious that it will make your brains explode!"

Marcus raised an eyebrow "Really?" Zim nodded and giggled.

Marcus asked, "Can you please enlighten me of this ingenious plan of yours?" Zim managed to stop giggling and said in between breaths "Ok…heh, ok" Zim coughed and began explaining "Ok, first we-" but suddenly the familiar sound of the doorbell interrupted him.

Zim swore in Irken "Those filthy beasts just wont leave me alone"

"You?" said Marcus, cocking an eyebrow "I'm the one who keeps getting approached by these weirdoes. I've been busting my hump for this stupid operation while you have been sitting here doing nothing for the past week"

Zim just ignored him "Oh, why won't these filthy creatures leave Zim alone".

The two departed the labs and made their way to the upper levels.

* * *

Malice, wearing only a tattered white dress shirt, black pants with suspenders and combat boots, sat in the kitchen with GIR. She was toying with a hunting knife as she watched GIR wolf down stack after stack of waffles.

Malice found it fascinating that such a small robot could down so much food without exploding but it soon lost its appeal after an hour or so. The doorbell snapped her out of her thoughts. She got up and went to the door.

Malice carefully concealed her knife by placing it up her sleeve.

Malice adjusted her sleeve and her collar then coughed. She opened the door expecting an attacker but she all she saw were a boy and a dog.

Malice was a little relieved but slightly disappointed, she was secretly hoping for an attack to take away the boredom she was suffering from.

She glanced at the two "Can I help you?" the boy just stared at her with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape.

The dog nudged him gently and the boy stammered "uh…is Zim…here?"

Malice nodded "I believe so" she glanced back over her shoulder and saw Zim and Marcus rush into the living room.

Malice stepped aside and Zim appeared in the doorway "Uh…thank you for answering the door, strange lady who lives in my house. now leave!" grunted Zim.

Malice just shrugged "Whatever"

she shoved her hands into her pockets and smiled at Finn "Nice meeting ya" she turned and retreated back into the house.

Zim watched as Malice went back to the kitchen to watch GIR eat waffles.

Once she was out of sight, Zim turned to Finn and Jake "Soooo what do you want?" asked Zim.

Finn blinked then said "We're just wondering, do you want to come adventuring with us?" Zim blinked in surprise.

No human had ever asked him, Zim, to do anything with them before, except for maybe Keef but this was different.

Zim narrowed his eyes at the two, looking them over suspiciously "Why are you asking me?"

Finn just shrugged "Princess Bubblegum is doing experiments, Marceline hasn't been acting like herself and we haven't seen her since the Ice Kingdom and most of our other friends are busy. So what do you say?"

Zim was about to say no but he stopped himself. This was a perfect opportunity to study this human and his dog closely.

Zim held up a finger "Just a moment" he closed the door and he turned to Marcus "I'm going out for a while and while I'm gone, I'm leaving Minimoose in charge. Just continue about your business, don't let GIR near the reactor again, you know what happened last time. Be on your guard and don't destroy the base"

"Whatever, just go and have a good time with your new friends" said Marcus, he plopped down on the couch, pulling out a pair of noise canceling headphones from beneath the couch cushions and he put them on. He hit play on the small music device; he closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.

Zim opened the door "Ok, I'm ready"

"Ok lets go!" said Finn and the three departed.

* * *

Marceline sat on her couch with a dusty old photo album in her lap. She skimmed through the hundreds of aged photos.

Marceline had searched through several other photo albums but found no trace of Marcus.

Normally she would just give up and just laugh at how she was behaving but she had a nagging feeling that she just had to keep searching.

Marceline flipped to the last page in the album and found what she was looking for. On the last page was a single, aged photo. The photo was of her, her father and Marcus.

The three were sitting together, with her in between the two, happily eating pizza. They were sitting at a corner booth in a pizzeria she faintly remembers. In the photo they all looked…human.

Her skin wasn't grey and her father's skin wasn't dark blue, his eyes were plain green and had warmth to them. She glanced at the Marcus in the photo.

He looked exactly the same as he did when she saw him a few days ago but there were some differences to his features.

His hair was messy and unkempt instead of its current spiky fashion. His skin was a healthy color and his eyes gleamed. Marceline smiled a little.

She could remember only pieces of that night.

The smell of pizza, the laughter of her father and brother and the chattering from the other customers came to mind. She was about to close the photo album when something in the photo caught her eye.

Marceline noticed at the edge of the photo was the window, giving her a limited view of people passing by but one particular person caught her eye.

Walking by the window was the familiar form of Zim.

* * *

Five hours after leaving Zim's home and traveling with Finn and Jake, Zim collapsed face first with exhaustion.

For five whole hours, Finn and Jake dragged him around and did various odd jobs and activities that Finn called 'Adventures'.

Zim indeed learnt more about this new earth and its inhabitants but for the most part he was occupied with helping all manner of creatures, like talking animals, living snack foods and creatures from human myths.

Zim had to summon ever ounce of will power to keep himself from throwing up. He hated helping people.

Zim had also began to loath Finn and Jake because they wouldn't leave him alone for five minutes. With the two adventurers watching Zim closely, he was unable to call GIR or Marcus for help. But opportunity came knocking when the trio had found a large hole in the ground near a raging river.

It was an odd hole.

It was perfectly round and had a metal ladder leading into darkness.

Zim, fed up with being dragged around, told the two adventurers that he broke his leg and he needed to rest. They bought his lie and entered the opening without him. Zim rolled over onto his back.

He stared at the clear blue sky muttering, "This human is going to kill me".

Zim sat up and glanced around at his surroundings suspiciously. The land around him looks so familiar somehow he just couldn't place it.

He heard Finn call for him from the hole in the ground "Zim! Dude you got to see this, its totally mathematical!" Zim grumbled something and walked over to the opening, then began his descent into the darkness.

Once his foot hit solid ground, Zim hopped off of the ladder and pulled out a flashlight from his pak and switched on the small lighting device.

Zim's eyes widened in shock at what he saw. From what Zim could see was that he was in a spacious, metal room that was packed with technology, desks and books.

Zim glanced around, moving his flashlight around the room till he saw Finn and Jake on the far side of the room inspecting some odd goggles.

Finn waved Zim over and Zim marched over to their side of the room.

Finn handed him the goggles "Check these goggles out, they're awesome!"

Zim placed the goggles over his eyes and suddenly he could see the whole room clearly, as if it were lit. Zim glanced around and he saw that behind the ladder, the room stretched on even further and it was stocked with even more curious items.

Zim smiled "Neat" he walked through the forest of machinery and technology, looking upon them in awe.

With this technology, he could conquer the earth and maybe even find the box that was stolen from him.

Suddenly Zim came to a halt at a table in the corner of the lab. He picked up a what looked like two half's of a circle connected by a little ring of metal. Zim turned it over in his hands and saw little lights adorning the two halfs.

Suddenly it hit him. It was a collar.

But it wasn't any collar; it was the collar that Dib wore when he and Zim were sucked into that horrifying dimension filled with monsters on Halloween. Zim realized that the room they are occupying must have belonged to Dib.

"I know, just check out all this science junk" he heard Jake say as he inspected a massive piece of machinery

"I wonder what this dose" said Finn, reaching to touch a familiar looking device. The device looked a pair of binoculars attached to a long cylinder that had a long sharp point at the end.

Zim's eyes widened in fear, realizing that it was the same dimensional scope that got him and Dib out of that nightmarish realm.

Zim began sprinting towards Finn, trying in vain to stop him but Finn picked it up and his hand brushed against some buttons on the sides of the cylinder, causing a soft hum to emit from the device. Finn glanced into the binoculars and gasped, "oh my glob, this is amazing!"

"No!" cried Zim "You foolish human!" he launched himself at Finn.

Suddenly a burst of light erupted forth and Finn's head became enveloped by it, then the light spread to his entire body.

Zim's arms made contact with Finn and suddenly the two became enveloped in blinding blue light.

When the light died, Jake found himself alone in the darkness and silence.

* * *

Security officer Zeke, who was monitor duty when the group of intruders found the cave of gold and jewels, was reading a magazine when he heard a faint beeping sound. Zeke lowered the magazine from his face and glanced at the monitor in annoyance, wondering what was disrupting the systems this time.

Zeke's heart almost stopped at what he saw on the monitors.

Zeke quickly called his superior, Captain Blake to see it.

Captain Blake marched into the monitor room with a steely look on his face "What is it this time" growled the grey haired officer "More treasure hunters?"

"No sir" said Zeke, he jabbed a finger at one of the monitors "Somebody had entered sub level seven four and activated one of the devices".

The captain's eyes widened "What! But how, it is impossible to get in there, the security systems should've obliterated the intruders…unless" the captain trailed off.

"Unless, the intruder was a true blood relative of the Empress" said Zeke, finishing off the captain's thoughts.

The Captain coughed "but it is impossible, all her blood relative's have died"

"Yes but you and I both know she has one blood relation that has been missing for the past thirteen years" Zeke pointed out.

The captain scratched his steel grey hair and sighed "ok. We must inform the Empress" "No need" hissed a familiar voice. The two froze and turned.

Standing in the doorway was Empress Gaz Membrane. She was dressed in flowing violet robes and pieces of high tech armor were placed around her body

"I have received the alert before you did" said Gaz coolly.

The Captain and Zeke just stared at her nervously, till Captain Blake asked, "What are your orders, ma'am?"

"We go to my brother's lab to investigate what they were doing there" said Gaz, pulling on a hood "then we retrieve my son and kill the rest of the intruders" she gestured for the two to follow "You two shall accompany me" she turned on her heel and left.

Zeke and Blake glanced at each other and rushed after the Empress.

* * *

The transport ship descended from the sky and landed in a narrow back ally. The side door slid open and a gangway lowered itself to the ground.

Two armed Irken guards dragged Tak by the arms down the gangway and through a set of doors. The trio journeyed through a hall that was packed with boxes and machines till they reached a very messy kitchen.

The three Irkens heard a gruff voice speak "Another huh? doesn't look like much but she'll do"

the three saw a large, portly Irken in a hovering chair glide into the kitchen through another set of doors on the other side of the kitchen "Thank you soldiers, you may go"

the two soldiers saluted "Thank you Frylord". Sizz-Lor returned the salute and the two soldiers departed.

Once the soldiers had left and the sounds of the ship taking off had faded, Tak saw a nasty grin appear on Sizz-Lor's face that sent chills down her spine.

She wanted to speak but she just couldn't find the words.

Instead Sizz-Lor tossed her a plunger and said coldly "Welcome to Foodcourtia former general. now get to work, i need the bathrooms unclogged and cleaned, booth twelve cleaned for some guests that are coming in five minutes-" he continued rattling off a long list of chores as Tak was trying to plan her escape.

After he finished listing the chores, Sizz-Lor noticed that Tak was just standing there, deep in her thoughts.

Sizz-Lor just sneered "Thinking of escape? don't, because i have updated the restaurant's security system" he snapped his fingers and automated hands came out from the ceiling and placed a manacle on her wrist "If you try to leave while you are wearing this, you will explode"

Tak's heart almost dropped into her gut. She is familiar with the security system. It was currently used by Irken Prisons to keep prisoners from escaping and so far it has rendered all escapes futile.

Sizz-Lor growled "Now, get to work. we open in five minutes."

Tak sighed and trudged off to work muttering "This is not going to be easy"

* * *

Finn's eyes fluttered open, he saw a deep purple sky hanging above his head that was filled with glittering stars and jagged black clouds

"Oh man, night already?" grumbled Finn, he sat himself up.

His head was throbbing and his back ached.

Finn looked beside him and found Zim sitting there, muttering and his eyes darting around in fear "Zim, are you ok?" asked Finn.

Zim's landed on Finn and he hissed "Look what you have done now, you troublesome boy!" he got up and waved his arms around "Look around you!"

Finn got up and he saw that the two of them were standing in a barren, disserted street.

Surrounding them was a city of twisted and misshapen structures.

It looked like a normal city but twisted and warped into a dark parody of itself. There were towering black spires made of organic material and stone, they all had large holes in them.

Some buildings didn't look like buildings at all, some just looked like large blocks of stone.

Finn had been all over Ooo and seen many strange places but he never seen such a city.

Something about it made his blood run cold "Where are we?" asked Finn

"We're in the Nightmare Realm" said Zim, fearfully "We better hurry before-" a sharp, earsplitting screech pierced the cool, silent air.

Finn and Zim glanced around them but saw nothing. There were more screeches and suddenly a crash of thunder and flash of lightning cut through the dark sky.

Finn drew his blood red sword "What was that?" asked Finn, sounding a little nervous

"The Halloweenies!" cried Zim.

Finn and Zim saw hundreds of hideous, twisted and disfigured monsters crawling out of the shadows.

Leading the monsters was one that Zim was all too familiar with.

"Well, well, well, lookie who we have here" sneered the monstrous doppelganger of Miss Bitters.

End of chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: well here you go. what'd you think? anyway review and all.)**


	8. Act 8: Devil in the Dark

**(a/n: here you go, a new chapter. Please review, it really helps)**

* * *

Act 8- Devil in the Dark

Marcus felt something nudge his arm lightly; causing him to shift a little but didn't wake.

Something nudged his arm again only a little harder; Marcus mumbled a curse but still didn't wake.

Suddenly he felt something hit him in the face so hard that he awoke.

Marcus bolted up right and rubbed his face "Ugh, wha-" he glanced around and saw Mini-moose floating there. Marcus frowned "What is it?" Mini-moose squeaked and bobbed a little.

Marcus frowned and glanced at his watch "It's been that long?" he noticed that it had been more then seven hours.

Marcus glanced out the window and saw that the sun had already set and the sky was a deep purple color. Marcus glanced to Mini-moose "what do you think happened?" Mini-moose squeaked.

Marcus nodded "That could be it, but I bet you ten bucks that his new pals decided to have Zim stay for a sleep over".

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

Marcus jumped to his feet and opened the door quickly, reveling a frightened looking Jake.

"Jake?" said Marcus "Where's Zim and Finn?"

"I don't know man" said Jake "One minute Finn was checking out this weird looking device and Zim was trying to tell us something but he and Finn disappeared"

Mini-moose squeaked. Marcus nodded, looking impressed "Wow, you were right Mini-moose, remind me that I owe you that ten bucks later".

Jake eyed the small purple moose suspiciously "Who's that?"

"Mini-moose, he's been here the whole time" answered Marcus.

Jake had a suspicious look on his face but it quickly changed "Huh, makes sense".

Marcus stepped aside and allowed Jake in. Jake plopped down on the couch "Ok, now from the beginning, tell us what happened", said Marcus.

Jake took a deep breath and recounted how he, Finn and Zim went all over Ooo and helped at least a dozen people. Jake mentioned a bizarre underground lab filled with advanced machinery and Finn inspecting a familiar sounding device.

Marcus glanced at Mini-moose with wide eyes "You don't think he found it? Do you?" Mini-moose squeaked.

Marcus frowned "True, Zim never found it after that whole incident, Dib probably had it the whole time, but my question is why?" Mini-moose squeaked again and Marcus nodded thoughtfully "True, but we can't be certain"

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Jake, feeling completely lost.

Marcus faced Jake "Jake, tell me more about the device Finn was holding and tell me what Zim was trying to say, their lives may depend on it" Jake nodded and described everything in great detail.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Zeke and Captain Blake hid behind some trees.

Empress Gaz had noticed Jake as he slipped out of the laboratory and she had the two security officers tail him for the past hour.

Captain Blake activated his communicator and reported, "Got em"

"Good, hold position till further instructions" said Gaz, with that the communicator went dead.

* * *

Zim and Finn turned sharply around the corner and quickly hid in the shadows.

They waited in silence and darkness as a wave of monsters surge past their hiding place. Once the wave of monsters had passed, Zim and Finn emerged from their hiding place.

Zim sighed wiping away the sweat on his face "That was close"

"Just what are they?" asked Finn in between breaths. "The Halloweenies, they live here in the Nightmare Realm, they feast upon sweet delicious sugar!" said Zim, trembling slightly.

Zim glanced around in fear "If we do not escape soon, they will capture us and feast upon our delicious blood!" Finn's eyes widened in shock as a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning lit the darkness.

Finn asked, "How do you know all this?"

"I was trapped here before" answered Zim, his voice filled with hate "Thanks to that stupid human boy and his device!"

"Who?" asked Finn.

Zim shook his head "Nobody. But we need to leave now!" "Ok" said Finn.

The two left the alleyway and quickly sprinted down a backstreet.

As they ran, Zim noticed that they were passing some familiar structures. The library, the mental asylum, the park, Zim even saw his old street.

Zim skidded to a stop. Zim stared at the street he made his home. It may be a twisted, corrupted version of it but it still was his street. So many memories, so many good memories that he made over the past few years.

Zim wasn't really nostalgic or sentimental but for some reason he felt a little, sad. He sort of missed that neighborhood and sort of wished that the war didn't happen.

But all those feelings faded in an instant.

Zim motioned for Finn to follow and he took off running to his home, with Finn following closely behind. The two burst through the front door and Zim slammed the door shut and locked it. Zim breathed a sigh of relief "We should be safe…for now".

Finn glanced around the dark living room "This place looks like your house"

Zim nodded "It is, or at least an alternate version of it" Finn just gave Zim a blank look.

Zim groaned and explained, "This world is a twisted mirror image of our world that contains spooky versions of people from our world"

Finn's eyes narrowed "If this place has scary versions of people of our world, are there monster versions of us?"

Zim frowned "I don't know, maybe" he shuddered "But I hope not".

Finn glanced around nervously "how do we get home?" "we need the dimensional scope that you were messing with" said Zim.

Finn nodded "Ok but where do we find it?"

Zim scratched his chin and pondered the question for a moment till one place came to mind "I know where it might be" said Zim, grimly.

* * *

Back in the city street where the two intruders had appeared, a small monster that looked like a cross between a potato and a squid slithered back to Doppelganger Bitters

"I have found them" hissed the monster, jabbing a tentacle towards a distant hill "They are at the green one's home"

Bitters' lips parted into a wicked smile "Excellent, signal the others to proceed and rend the flesh from their bones!" Bitters let out a howl of laughter but her laughter was cut short.

The monster felt a cold presence behind her.

Doppelganger Bitters turned and trembled at the sight of the being "M-Master w-what a pleasant surprise!" Bitters bowed her head low "What brings you here?" Standing there was a tall, slim woman with cold eyes that could send chills through even the most fearsome monster of the Nightmare Realm.

Gaz Membrane glared at the cowering monster "I hear that you have cornered two boys, is that true?"

Bitters nodded quickly "Yes master, the small green one from years ago and a boy in blue"

Gaz's mouth twitched a little "Good, for once you have actually done something right"

"Thank you master" said Bitters, sincerely.

Gaz gazed around at the nightmare world in disgust "Here I thought this place couldn't get any crappier"

Bitters smiled "Thank you master, we strive to please". The small squid monster raised a tentacle "What will you have us do master?"

Gaz looked down on the small monster and said "you will take them alive, preferably unharmed and I want you to bring them to me".

The two monsters bowed their heads saying, "Yes master!"

"Good" said Gaz "Now go!" the two monsters obeyed and they scurried away from the woman as quickly as they could.

* * *

Mini-moose floated above Marcus as he dug through the storage closet in one of Zim's labs.

After an hour of searching, Marcus withdrew a small red device from the closet "Is this it?" asked Marcus, holding it up so Mini-moose could see.

Mini-moose squeaked happily.

Marcus stared at the small device in his hands "Well this looks like the prototype he was working on but he forgot to finish it" Mini-moose squeaked and floated closer to the device "Well I think he built this thing so he could open another gateway and send Dib through to another world" said Marcus, shrugging "I guess he just got lazy and forgot about this thing"

Mini-moose squeaked and floated out of the room with Marcus following closely behind.

Marcus and Mini-moose returned to the house above where Jake waited in the living room.

Marcus showed the device to Jake "Is this what it looked like?"

Jake nodded "Yeah, except it was a different color and it was a little bigger".

Mini-moose squeaked and floated towards the front door "What'd he say?" asked Jake

"He said that if we're going to save Zim and Finn, we got to move" answered Marcus. Jake nodded; understanding and the three of them quickly went outside.

* * *

Zim and Finn sat on the couch.

Finally after an hour, they had fished planning their next move. Suddenly they heard some chattering coming from outside. Zim frowned and quickly went to the front window.

What he saw made him blanch.

Outside hundreds of monsters were approaching the house.

Zim glanced back at Finn "They're coming!"

"Ok, just like what we planned?" asked Finn.

Zim gritted his teeth but he nodded his head "Fine, just go now!" Finn nodded, he rushed into the kitchen and climbed out of the kitchen window.

Zim grumbled to no one "I hate this plan" he turned and faced the front door.

He heard the chattering of the monsters that mixed with footfalls and slithering. Zim stood in the living room, his feet rooted to the floor.

Something in the back of his mind screamed, "Run!" but he just couldn't move. Zim growled as two large plasma cannons emerged from his pak. The door exploded off its hinges and the monsters flooded in.

Zim unleashed a barrage of shots upon the invading monsters. Dozens fell within the first few seconds, followed by a dozen more. With each passing second, dozens of monsters were struck down by Zim's barrage. But no matter how many fell, more kept flooding in.

Zim began to sweat. Even though the plan was to stall them as Finn made a pass at the Dimensional scope, Zim was tempted to flee but he knew that if he were to return home, he had to hold his ground.

After a few more seconds had passed and several dozen more monsters slain, Zim had began to believe that he might survive.

But that though had vanished when suddenly there was a deafening boom and a quake that shook the house and everyone in it. Zim's eyes widened in fear as a large shadow appeared in the doorway. A large black and white stripped tentacle shot through the doorway, wrapped itself around Zim and yanked him out of the house, bringing him face to face with Doppelganger Bitters.

Doppelganger Bitters smirked, holding Zim up to her eye "Got ya!" Zim's heart thumped away in his chest like a hammer.

Zim expected the monster to begin tearing away his flesh and devour him what was left but he heard some of the monsters report that Finn was gone causing Bitters to freeze.

The monster scowled at Zim "Where is he?" Zim just shook his head.

The monster grunted, "You may not answer me, but lets just see if the master could loosen that tongue of yours" Zim frowned in confusion but suddenly Bitters broke out into a full sprint, her tentacle swinging Zim around like a ragdoll.

As Zim was being tossed around, he muttered that he was going to murder Finn for his ridiculous plan.

Suddenly Zim felt Bitters skid to a stop and he was dropped on the ground like a bad penny.

He picked himself off the ground; brushing dirt of his uniform "What's the big idea?" said Zim irritably, looking around at his surroundings.

Zim found himself standing in the street where he and Finn had appeared.

"Hello Zim" said a soft voice.

Zim's blood ran cold. He recognized that voice, but it couldn't be. It sounded older and more mature but it still was recognizable.

The Irken invader turned and he saw standing there, an adult Gaz Membrane

"you!" breathed Zim. Gaz nodded "Yes, me. It's been a while huh?"

"B-but how are you alive?" asked Zim

Gaz just shrugged "Found the secret to immortality years ago, not really a big deal" "How are you here?" asked Zim.

Gaz answered nonchalantly "Magic".

Gaz was taller and she looked to be in her late twenties. Her hair reached past her shoulders and was a mane of purple spikes. Zim noticed that she was wearing pieces of high tech battle armor beneath the dark purple cloak she wore.

Before Zim could ask another question, Gaz held up a hand cutting him off "Enough questions" Zim's mouth snapped shut.

Gaz nodded to Doppelganger Bitters "Leave us"

"Yes master" said Bitters.

Zim heard the loud thuds of the monster's feet then nothing.

Gaz turned back to Zim and said coolly "Now that we are alone, I believe it is time that we have a little talk" Zim gulped then said "Ok".

* * *

Marcus was looking in the scope, adjusting the dials on the sides while muttering "Nope, nope, nope".

Mini-moose had instructed Marcus to use the scope to search for the dimension that Finn and Zim could be trapped in.

Once Marcus had located the dimension, Mini-moose then enacts his plan at rescuing Zim. For almost twenty minutes, Marcus had searched through at least a hundred dimensions and so far had no luck.

Marcus sat up against a tree searching through the scope, Mini-moose floated above and Jake just sat beside him playing with the grass.

Marcus kept mumbling "Nope, nope, nope, no-Hey!"

"What?" asked Jake "Did you find them?"

Marcus shook his head "No but I found a dimension filled with junk food. It has a river of melted cheese and a forest made entirely of taquitos"

Mini-moose squeaked

"Yeah, it dose sound like paradise but for now, I'll just keep searching or else Gir might show up and send us there" said Marcus.

Marcus began mumbling off the different dimensions "Filled with Jelly, humans ruled by sea horses, a peaceful utopia, hyper intelligent super sandwiches, gender bent versions of us, Zombie Apocalypse-"

"what was that last one?" asked Jake.

Marcus frowned "Zombie Apocalypse?" "No, before that" said Jake

"Hyper intelligent super sandwiches?" said Marcus.

Mini-moose squeaked and nudged Marcus. Marcus nodded "right, focus" he turned his attention back to the scope and continued searching.

"-Lego city, Super heroes, ah here we are!" Mini-moose squeaked and Marcus nodded.

Marcus adjusted another set of dials and he said, "I see Finn" Mini-moose squeaked again and Marcus flipped a switch on the scope and he placed the scope on the ground, then Marcus, Jake and Mini-moose backed away.

* * *

Finn jumped over the wall of monsters and continued running.

Finn had infiltrated a monstrous looking school and had fought his way through more than a dozen monsters till he reached the room containing his target.

Finn swung his sword, hacking away at the oncoming monsters till he reached his target.

An old rusted device like the one that had brought himself and Zim to the nightmare world. He was getting closer and closer, but suddenly a flash of light blinded him and he found himself in front of Zim's house "Wha-?"

"Finn!" cried Jake as he ran over and hugged his buddy.

Marcus's eyebrows rose "Wow that worked" he glanced at Mini-moose "How did you know that would work?"

Mini-moose squeaked.

Jake frowned "What did he say?"

"Some advanced quantum physics jargon that I don't understand" answered Marcus

"Oh" said Jake. Mini-Moose squeaked, Marcus nodded "right, now Zim" Marcus went to the scope and adjusted another dial and flipped another switch.

* * *

In the Nightmare World, Gaz crossed her arms "So, what do you say?"

Zim sighed "Fine"

"good" said Gaz, smiling a little "I'm glad that you could see it my way".

Suddenly Zim's body began to glow. Gaz glanced at her watch "Huh, they're early"

"Huh?" said Zim

"Nothing" said Gaz "Just go home and don't forget about our arrangement". Zim only nodded and he vanished.

* * *

Zim found himself in front of his house with Finn, Jake, Marcus and Mini-moose.

Zim blinked and glanced around "What the? How did I get here?"

"Marcus and Mini-moose did it" explained Finn "They brought us back".

Zim looked at Marcus and Mini-moose "No biggie" said Marcus "No need to thank us or anything"

"Good job" said Zim.

Mini-moose squeaked and floated back to the house. Marcus sighed, "Well that was enough excitement for one day, I say we call it a night" he nodded to Finn and Jake "Goodnight" he turned and followed Mini-moose back to the house.

Zim said his goodbyes to Finn and Jake and quickly hurried after Marcus and Mini-moose.

* * *

From a distance, Captain Blake and Zeke watched as the group disperse.

Captain Blake's communicator crackled to life "Return to the lab, now" said the voice of Empress Gaz.

The two security officers obeyed and they departed from the woods and returned to the lab where the empress waited for them.

Captain Blake bowed his head and asked "Ma'am, what are your orders?"

"Nothing, for now" said Gaz

"Nothing?" asked Zeke

Gaz nodded.

Captain Blake asked "What now?"

"We return to Haven for the time being" said Gaz, she turned and made her way to the exit with her security officers in tow.

The three humans climbed out of the secondary hatch and into their transport vehicle. As the small, sleek hover car zoomed down the man-made tunnel back to civilization, Gaz spoke "I am tired and I need amusement"

Captain Blake glanced back at the Empress in the backseat with the rearview mirror "the usual ma'am?"

Gaz shook her head "No, I want something new, something that will not bore me" Captain Blake gulped nervously.

Gaz glanced out the window, watching the concrete tunnel wall blur into one long drab scene

"Have the Gamekeeper prep the arena" said Gaz, her lips spread into a smile "Tell him to make an entertaining match"

Captain Blake nodded "Yes, Ma'am" he switched on the vehicle's onboard radio and as he repeated the Empress's order, Gaz's personal communicator rumbled a little.

Gaz fished the small device out of her pocket and answered it "What is it?"

"Your eminence, we have good news" said a soft voice.

Gaz frowned and the voice on the other end told her the news.

Gaz smirked "Good, you have done well"

"Thank you your majesty, it is always an honor to serve" said the voice and the line went dead.

Captain Blake glanced in the mirror and noticed Gaz's smirk "Good news your majesty?"

"Yes" said Gaz "There is news that Agent Phantom has found my target and the item i seek" Captain Blake and Zeke looked at each other in surprise.

Zeke spoke up "Well that's good, congratulations are in order ma'am"

"Yes, well I knew that they would get them, like they always do" said Captain Blake

"Yes, my Swollen Eyeball Network is quite efficient isn't it?" mused Gaz.

Zeke piped up "A happy occasion like this calls for music" Captain Blake paled and he looked at the young officer in shock.

The captain expected the Empress to punish Zeke for speaking out of turn, but much to his surprise Gaz just nodded "Fine, go ahead"

Zeke smiled and he pulled out a disk from his jacket. He put the disk into the CD player.

Within a moment a series of instruments began playing an upbeat tempo and a man began singing "_I see the bad moon arising. I see trouble on the way. I see earthquakes and lightnin'. I see bad times today. Don't go around tonight. Well, its bound to take your life, there's a bad moon on the rise..."_

Zeke tapped his foot along with the beat.

Captain Blake drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, even Gaz hummed along with the song.

Gaz smiled a little. Things were going according to plan and within a matter of days, her last enemy shall be vanquished and her rule shall be solidified.

Gaz hummed along with the song as they approached the shining city ahead of them.

* * *

Tak collapsed in the chair in the back room. Her muscles ached and beads of sweat dripped down her face.

For the past few days she had worked at Sizz-Lorr's restaurant tirelessly and she was on the verge of going crazy.

She had spent hour after hour cleaning, taking orders, and dancing around in a humiliating costume filled with white-hot grease.

Tak didn't have time to be alone with her thoughts, to plan an escape.

The back room door opened and Sizz-Lorr glided into the room on his hover chair.

He noticed Tak sitting in the chair "Break's done, get back to work" he growled.

Tak let out a growl of anger "No, I will not".

Sizz-Lorr frowned "No?"

"No, I will not take another minute of this!" seethed Tak, rising from her chair.

The former general looked the large Irken in the eye and snarled, "I was a high ranking general, I fought in the wars, I had the ear of the Tallest! I will not be ordered around like a common drone by a fry lord!"

Sizz-Lorr sneered "So what? I was a proud warrior in the elite guard but I was reassigned as a fry lord and I didn't complain. No matter what you say, former general, you are still a drone!"

Tak let out a cry of frustration "I can't believe this! I was the greatest and most feared general in Irk, then Zim's return had ruined it all!"

Sizz-Lorr's eyes widened "Zim! He's alive?"

Tak scowled "Yes, haven't you heard? The so-called great, war hero has returned, apparently he's alive on earth"

Sizz-Lorr gripped the arm of his chair tightly, "That rotten little scum sucker!" growled the fry lord "because of him, I've been here for the past thousand Great Foodening's short on help, its even worse now that I lost the use of both my legs".

Tak blinked in surprise. Suddenly an idea came to her mind.

"You hate Zim?" asked Tak

Sizz-Lorr nodded "More than anything"

Tak nodded "Me too and you want to have revenge on him?"

Sizz-Lorr nodded "yeah, why?".

Tak grinned, "I think we can help each other out"

Sizz-Lorr understood what she was saying, he grinned as well "Yes, I think so".

* * *

Marcus marched into the living room with a pillow and blanket. He placed the pillow on one end and he plopped down on the couch, sighing, "This bites".

Zim had ordered Marcus to stay in the upper levels and guard the house.

Marcus couldn't disobey; he was programmed to obey every one of Zim's requests, even if it was a stupid one.

Marcus wrapped himself up in the blanket muttering a curse. Once Marcus was comfortable, he just sat alone in the dark with only the light of the moon spilling in through the windows.

Marcus sat on the couch for a moment, trying to keep boredom at bay.

Marcus began humming a few notes then sang softly "_When there's nowhere else to run, is there room for one more son? One more son, if you can hold on, hold on"_

He drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch, humming a few more notes and continued, "_I want to shine on in the hearts of men, I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand. Another head aches, another heart breaks. I am so much older than I can take. And my affection, well it comes and goes. I need direction to perfection, no, no, no, no. Help me out. Yeah, you know you got to help me out yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner .You know you got to help me out_-" he stopped suddenly.

He noticed that something had moved.

Marcus glanced around the dark, alert and ready to fight.

His cybernetic eye scanned for heat signatures but he saw nothing. Something in him told him to stay alert.

Marcus just shook his head and continued humming.

He reached for the TV remote that was hidden in-between the couch cushions.

Marcus clicked on the TV and the movie that Gir was watching earlier was still on.

Marcus just shrugged "Whatever" he hit the play button and just watched the spaghetti western, without realizing that he was being watched.

If Marcus had looked up for just a second, he would've seen floating on the ceiling silently was Marceline.

End of Chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: well what do you think? The lyrics are from Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Bad Moon Rising' and The Killer's 'All the things i've done' so i don't own those lyrics. Please review, it really helps.) **


	9. Act 9: From Dusk till Dawn

**(a/n: well here's another chapter. enjoy and review!)**

* * *

Act 9: From Dusk till Dawn

Marceline floated in the darkness above Marcus, silently observing him.

She watched him sit there on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, watching the large TV. The vampire couldn't believe it. He is exactly how she remembered him.

The only notable difference is the flecks of grey in his hair and his grey skin color.

Marcus shifted a little on the couch, watching the TV with disinterest.

"Marcus?" said a voice. Marceline quickly turned into a bat and hid inside the tangle of conduits and coils on the ceiling. Marceline peeked out from her hiding place and saw a tall blond woman standing in the doorway to the kitchen. The woman was unfamiliar to the vampire. The woman wore a grey t-shirt and a pair black shorts.

Marceline saw one of the woman's eyes poke out from behind the curtain of golden hair that covered her face.

Marcus's eyebrows rose "Malice, what are you doing up?" "Couldn't sleep, you?" said the woman named Malice.

Marcus frowned "Same" Malice walked over and sat down beside Marcus

"So, what are we watching?" asked Malice.

Marcus shrugged "Don't know, something GIR had on earlier"

Malice nodded "Hmm, neat".

Marceline frowned in confusion and thought back to her first visit to Zim's home. She couldn't remember meeting Malice, Zim never even mentioned someone named Malice. For the next hour, Marceline observed Marcus and Malice. As time went by, Marceline was focused more on Malice than on Marcus. Something about the blond woman gave the vampire an ill feeling.

Judging from Malice's looks, Marceline guessed that the blond woman was in her early twenties. She had an almost flawless, pale complexion. Marceline noticed a few scars near the base of Malice's neck. From the looks of the scars, the vampire had to guess that Malice had seen some serious combat.

Marceline's eyes drifted over to Marcus. He looked relatively the same but there were something in his eyes and his face that made him look a little older.

Malice rested her head on Marcus's shoulder and sighed.

Marcus frowned "What's on your mind?"

"Its nothing" said Malice.

Marcus rolled his eyes "Come on, what is it? You can tell me" Malice sighed again "Just don't laugh"

Marcus nodded "I promise" Malice's mouth twitched and she whispered, "I think Mini-moose is trying to kill me".

Marceline watched as Marcus's serious expression changed to one of surprise. Marcus snorted a little, he bit his lip trying to hold back his laughter but he failed. He burst out laughing. Marceline smiled a little. A fragment of an old memory popped into her mind. In the memory, Marcus and a younger Marceline were sitting on the roof of their home, laughing about a joke Marcus had told her.

Marceline blinked and she saw Malice hitting Marcus on the arm. Marcus just laughed a little harder "Ha-he-ow" he rubbed his arm

"I told you not to laugh" said Malice. Marcus coughed "sorry, its just…Mini-moose? Why do you think he's trying to kill you?"

"Well I woke up a few times and heard heavy breathing in the walls of my room" said Malice.

Marcus frowned "That isn't Mini-moose, that'll probably be one of Zim's mutant gopher experiments" "Mutant gopher?" said Malice.

Marcus nodded "Yeah. I can't believe that it's still running around after a thousand years".

Marceline blinked in surprise. Zim had experiments? A thousand years? What was Marcus talking about?

Malice frowned "How is it in the walls of my room?"

"Probably escaped from cryogenic containment when we awoke and hid in the walls of your room, for some reason" said Marcus.

Malice shuddered "That's scary"

Marcus raised an eyebrow "You're a highly skilled assassin and you're afraid of a mutant gopher?"

Malice nodded "Ever since I was little, on my home planet they usually grew to the size of a house and gobble up hundreds of people in a single night"

"You have gophers in space?" asked Marcus, sounding intrigued.

Malice nodded "Almost every planet in the galaxy has a variant species".

Marceline's eyes widened in realization, Malice was an alien. Suddenly, it all clicked. Cryogenic storage, the odd house, green skin and mutant gophers, it could mean only one thing. Zim was an alien. Marceline frowned something still didn't fit in her mind. She was so sure that she didn't have a brother before that day in the Ice Kingdom but suddenly she remembers him.

Marceline racked her mind trying to find an explanation but all that came up were brief flashes of red and orange, distant screams, a blur of grey and a cruel smile.

There was a rumbling sound that came from a nearby wall. Marceline, Malice and Marcus glanced around, trying to find the source of the sound. The rumbling traveled up the wall, across the ceiling then crawled down the wall and into the floor.

Malice grabbed Marcus's arm "What was that?" "That would be Gary, the killer mutant gopher" said Marcus, his eyes were darting around at the ceiling, the walls and the floor.

After a few minutes of silence, Marcus and Malice relaxed and continued watching the movie. Soon Malice fell asleep and Marcus's eyes began to blink then finally close.

Marceline waited for a moment then she emerged from her hiding place and turned back to her normal form. The vampire quietly floated over to the couch and studied Marcus. He was sleeping peacefully with Malice resting her head on his shoulder. Marceline reached out and carefully lifted one of his arms and carefully rolled up the sleeve of his red flannel shirt. If Marceline remembered correctly, her brother had a birthmark. She just had to be sure that Marcus was really her brother, to be truly sure she had to see if he had the birthmark.

Marceline stopped and her eyes widened. On his arm was an oddly shaped birthmark that looked like a diamond. Marcus was really her brother. Marcus shifted a little, mumbling something Marceline didn't catch. Marcus didn't wake. Marceline sighed in relief a little. She decided it was time to leave.

Quickly, she glided to one of the windows, opened it, crawled out and departed.

* * *

As Marceline left, she didn't see that Marcus's eyes were wide open.

He had known that the intruder was there the whole time, but he didn't know whom. So he decided to pretend to be asleep to discover the identity of the intruder. To his surprise it was Marceline. Marcus's eyes narrowed.

He made a mental note to keep an eye on her, and if necessary, eliminate her.

Marcus glanced down at his arm and saw the birthmark. Some images flashed across his mind but he just shook his head, trying to get them out of his head "Just dreams" he muttered dismissively "Only dreams". He laid his head back and his eyes closed as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, Finn laid in his bed, tossing and turning. In his dreams, he found himself standing in what looked like a nursery.

The walls were blue and the floor was covered in toys. In the center of the room was a crib. Finn heard footsteps. He turned and saw a tall violet haired woman walk past him.

She was dressed in a purple bathrobe, purple bath slippers and her hair was unkempt and wild.

She approached the crib yawning.

Finn approached the crib, as well and as he approached he heard the woman saying softly "How's my little boy doing?" there was some cooing and giggling.

Finn saw the woman smile a little "You remind me a little of your grandfather" she frowned a bit "At least you're not like your uncle" there were more giggling coming from the crib.

The woman smiled "That's right, you're not like your crazy alien hunting uncle, no you're not" she cooed a little and reached into the crib. Finn heard some laughter and for some reason, he smiled. Something about this scene was familiar, he just couldn't remember what.

The woman stopped and she glanced over her shoulder "Ah, you're back"

"Yes I am mother" said a voice.

Finn saw stepping into the nursery was a young blond woman, dressed in a black military uniform. The young woman approached the crib and looked down at its occupant.

She smiled "Hey little guy, did you miss me?" The violet haired woman glanced at her daughter "How did the mission go?"

the blond woman frowned and said quietly "Can we discuss this tomorrow?" "No" growled her mother.

The blond woman nodded "Fine" she leant in and kissed the occupant of the crib "Good to see you again, little brother"

"Come along Susan" said the violet haired woman. With that the two women left the nursery. Finn looked inside the crib and he paled at what he saw. Inside the crib, was him when he was a baby.

Finn bolted up right, covered in sweat. Finn glanced around and he saw that he was still in his bed; he was still in his home. Finn mulled over what he saw in his dream. Who were those women? Where they really his family? Are they still alive?

Finn shrugged and decided to go back to sleep. As he slipped back into sleep, he could've sworn that the Susan in his dream looked like Susan Strong.

* * *

The next morning Marcus awoke and found Malice was gone. Marcus rose from the couch, yawning and stretching his stiff limbs.

He saw Mini-moose enter the room and squeak "Already?" asked Marcus, he glanced at his watch "Wow, Zim starting this early, that's a first" Mini-moose squeaked and floated out of the room with Marcus following closely behind.

Zim stood in his lab tapping his foot impatiently. He had awoken early to get a head start on his schemes. Malice sat in a chair sharpening a knife, glancing around at the vents on the ceiling, Gir was shoving fist full's of animal crackers down his throat.

Finally after waiting for almost a minute, Marcus and Mini-moose entered the lab "Where were you?" demanded Zim.

Marcus replied sardonically "Bravely defending our home from a vicious blood thirsty horde of Vikings sir, using only my wits and a spoon"

"Well next time don't be late when I call you" said Zim, not recognizing the sarcasm in Marcus's reply.

Marcus plopped down in a chair and Mini-moose just floated above him "So, what's up?"

"I have successfully come up with a new plan!" announced Zim.

Malice and Marcus rolled their eyes, Gir just continued eating crackers and Mini-moose squeaked.

Zim blinked "What?"

"Zim, is there something you're not telling us?" asked Marcus

"What? No, I have nothing to tell" said Zim, trying to sound innocent.

"Zim" said Malice, lowering her knife "Ever since you got back from the Nightmare realm, you haven't been yourself lately" "I haven't?" asked Zim.

Malice and Marcus nodded, Mini-moose squeaked and Gir nodded. Zim frowned. He might as well tell them, they were bound to find out sooner or later. So Zim took a deep breath and told them of his trip to the Nightmare realm. He also told them of his encounter with Gaz, the deal he made with her and he concluded with the part where he and Finn were rescued.

After he finished, he studied their expressions. Mini-moose and Gir's were blank, Marcus's was pensive and Malice's were surprised.

Marcus was the first to speak "So, Gaz is alive, huh kinda figured that she would probably outlive all of us"

"Are you sure this is the right choice?" asked Malice "I hardly know this Gaz person but from the sound of this deal, I don't think we should do this"

Mini-moose squeaked in agreement.

Zim nodded "I know but if we don't do this, she will do…this" Zim pulled out a small recording device from his pak and hit the play button.

A woman's voice came pouring out of the speaker "_If you don't cooperate with me, I will crush your base beneath my heel like a pathetic bug and what I will do to you will make an eternity the deepest pits of Hell seem like a picnic" _the audio suddenly became gurgled. Ink black liquid oozed from the speaker on the small device and suddenly the recording device burst into violet flames.

Marcus's eyebrows shot up "well that escalated quickly"

Malice shivered "Forget what I said, lets just do this job".

Zim clapped his hands together "good, now on to business". Zim pulled up some aerial photos on a projector.

The photos were of a large town made of gingerbread sounding a massive castle that had what looked like a massive tree growing out of the roof "From Gaz's report, she has told us that this is the Candy Kingdom, the home of Princess Bubblegum and other inhabitants of this new world" he hit a button on the clicker in his hand "From what Gaz has told me, Princess Bubblegum will be holding a formal party celebrating the anniversary for their kingdom and everyone in the kingdom will be there, which probably means Finn and Jake will be there as well"

Marcus held up a hand "Hold up, how dose Gaz know all of this?"

Zim shivered muttered over and over "She knows everything, she knows everything".

Zim quickly snapped out of it "Anyway, she has told us to hold the people inside the castle for as long as possible and we are to move Finn to the extraction point".

Zim hit the clicker again, this time showing a balcony in an isolated part of the castle, with a huge circle on the picture.

Marcus frowned "Why dose Gaz want Finn?" "Because Finn is her son" answered Zim.

Marcus's eyes widened "Ok, I didn't see that coming. So…who's the father?"

Zim shrugged.

Malice nodded, understanding the plan "Ok, anything else?" "Yes" said Zim. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, perfectly round gem. It roughly fit inside Zim's hand. It was perfectly smooth and blue "We steal the gem inside of the Princess's crown and switch it with this dummy" said Zim.

Marcus frowned "Why?"

Zim only shrugged again.

Everyone in the room mulled over the plan then agreed to go along with it, Zim smiled "good, now lets work on the distraction" everyone leaned forward and listened with interest.

* * *

Meanwhile on Foodcourtia, Tak and Sizz-Lorr quickly made their way down a narrow lane between two large restaurants till they reached their destination. A small dock where a small ship shaped like a dart hovered, waiting for them.

Tak had struck a deal with Sizz-Lorr. If he allowed her to go free and kill Zim, she promised to bring back his corpse.

Sizz-Lorr had removed the manacle from her wrist and personally escorted her to a small, unregistered ship in a shady part of Foodcourtia.

Tak turned to the frylord saying, "Thank you for helping me"

"Whatever" grunted Sizz-Lorr "Just don't forget our deal"

"I won't" promised Tak.

Tak climbed into the ship's cockpit and the ship's engines hummed to life. The small ship rose slowly and it quickly ascended into the dark, starry sky above. The ship quickly accelerated and it shot into orbit. Once the ship had cleared Foodcourtia's orbit, Tak set in coordinates to Earth.

Her hands tightened on the controls as she muttered, "I'm coming to get you Zim, just you wait, I'm going to wish that you've stayed buried".

* * *

After almost a few hours of planning and prepping Zim ordered Marcus and Malice to change into formal clothing for the party.

Marcus entered the kitchen wearing a black waistcoat over a white shirt, a black necktie, black pants and shoes.

Mini-moose squeaked, Marcus smiled "Thanks".

Malice walked in wearing an expensive blue dress, high heels and a necklace.

Mini-moose squeaked again, Malice blushed a little "Thanks"

"Nice" complemented Marcus.

Malice nodded "Not to bad yourself"

"What, this old thing?" said Marcus, looking down at his clothes "Its…its nothing".

Zim stepped into the kitchen, wearing a black suit that was covered in wires "remember, keep the fools minds clouded as I switch the gems out and lead Finn out to the balcony"

"I still think this is a dumb idea" mumbled Malice

"Don't be ridicules, it's perfect, completely foolproof" assured Zim.

The group marched out of the base, with Marcus and Malice leading the way, with Mini-moose and Gir following behind. Zim was trailing behind the group closely.

* * *

Once the group made it to the outer wall surrounding the Candy Kingdom, Zim pressed a button on his suit.

The suit shimmered a little and Zim's form faded, rendering him completely invisible.

Marcus and Malice studied the impressive wall of gingerbread. It was at least twice the size of Zim's house and thick enough to repel an invasion. Marcus noticed giant humanoid gumball statues posted at opposite ends of the city, facing east and west.

The group crossed the drawbridge and entered the Candy Kingdom.

On the other side of the wall, Marcus, Malice, Mini-moose and Gir found themselves in a town that looked like it came from a storybook.

The houses were made of gingerbread, lampposts made of candy canes, there were trees made of cotton candy.

Marcus spotted a human sized cupcake walk past them "Somebody please pinch me, I must be dreaming" murmured Marcus.

Malice eyed a large cinnamon bun that was marching past them like a hungry wolf.

"Lets go" grunted Zim, snapping everyone out of their thoughts "before Gir tries to eat somebody" everybody nodded and they hurried down the main road towards the castle.

Once the reached the front steps of the castle Zim ordered their operation to begin. Zim broke off from the main group and blended in with the crowd and allowed him to be carried into the castle. Once they were sure that Zim was gone, Marcus, Malice, Mini-moose and Gir ascended the front steps and entered the foyer with the crowd of candy people.

Inside, they found themselves in a spacious room that was packed with candy people.

On one side of the room was a long table of snacks, from the ceiling dangled what looked like a piñata. Everyone of the guest's have been dressed in formal attire.

"Marcus!" called a voice. Marcus glanced towards the source of the voice and saw that it was Princess Bubblegum. She was waving them over to her on the other side of the room.

Marcus, Malice, Mini-moose and Gir made their way through the crowd till they reached the princess.

"Princess" greeted Marcus

"Marcus, I'm glad that you came" said Princess Bubblegum.

The princess glanced to Malice and Mini-moose "Who are they?"

"Oh this is Mini-moose, a friend" said Marcus, nodding to the tiny, floating moose.

Mini-moose squeaked and bobbed a little. Princess Bubblegum smiled "A pleasure to meet you too".

Marcus placed a hand on Malice's shoulder "And this is Malice Lovelace, a very dear friend of mine" "Nice to meet you" said Malice, shaking Princess Bubblegum's hand.

Princess Bubblegum frowned "What happened to your eye?" noticing that the woman had a patch over her eye.

Malice's hand went to her eye patch "Oh this old thing? Well it's a long and funny story" and Malice began to explain in great detail of how she lost her eye.

* * *

On the other side of the room, Zim slipped past a sharply dressed peppermint that was carrying a tray.

Zim found a nice, isolated closet and he quickly hid himself inside it.

Zim activated his communicator. After a moment of silence a voice answered "_What?" _

"I am in position" said Zim

"_Good"_ said Gaz "_but there has been a change in plans"_

"What?" exclaimed Zim, his voice almost rose to a shout "You dare-" "_I dare what Zim?" _said Gaz sharply.

Zim swallowed his words "n-nothing" "_Good" _said Gaz, Zim rubbed his forehead "What's the change in plan?"

"_I need you to hold off the extraction for a few minutes" _said Gaz "_Don't approach Finn and don't let him out your sights, keep him and his friends in place till I arrive" _

"Understood" said Zim.

Before Gaz could cut off the communicator, Zim asked, "Where are you anyway?"

"_On an errand"_ answered Gaz, curtly "_Won't be long, now quit bugging me" _with that the communicator went dead.

* * *

Gaz stood alone at the entrance of the cave, the edges of her cloak flapped lazily in the cool evening breeze. Gaz sauntered into the cave. Inside she saw mountains of gold and other treasures piled as high as the ceiling.

There were some television sets, chairs and other old items from before the war.

In the center of the cave was a small, evil looking snail and a large, ancient book laid out before him. T

he snail looked up and his small eyes widened when he saw Gaz. "You!" hissed the snail.

Gaz nodded "Yes me. Did you miss me you pathetic bag of bones?"

the snail growled, "How dare you refer to me in such a manner!"

"I address you anyway I want" said Gaz.

She raised a hand and the ancient book flew into her hand.

The snail snarled, "Give it back!"

"Or what?" sneered Gaz.

The snail growled and suddenly a large, horrifying skeletal creature emerged from the snail's tiny body, roaring like a lion.

Gaz didn't even blink, she just snapped her fingers and the skeletal creature and the snail became encased in a sphere of violet energy. The skeletal creature studied the sphere and tried to touch it, but the once The Lich's finger touched the wall, dark energy crackled and the Lich howled in pain.

The Lich shot Gaz a death glare "You shall pay!"

Gaz's eyebrow rose "Really? How is that going to work again? Are you talking about your little pet bear that was guarding the entrance, because I skinned him alive in nothing flat, Are you talking about your magic? Don't make me laugh, your magic is a pathetic joke compared to mine. So tell me how am I going to pay?"

The Lich's eyes narrowed in anger.

Gaz smirked "You can make all the threats you want but the simple fact of the matter is that I no longer have any use for you and thanks to you, I have this" she held up the old book in her hand for the Lich to see "Again thanks to you, I can now complete my ultimate goal"

The Lich roared "No! The book is mine! When I am free, I shall make you suffer for your insolence!"

"Whatever" snorted Gaz, she turned and began marching out of the cave.

Once outside, she aimed her finger at the cave's entrance and fired a bolt of energy. The bolt struck some large boulders and the boulders crumbled down and buried the entrance to the cave.

Gaz held the book up to the moonlight to get a better look at the cover "Sorry old friend, but it seems that the student has surpassed the teacher" said Gaz as she studied the cover of the book she had sought for years "and the Enchiridion is mine".

* * *

At the Candy Kingdom, Zim carefully navigated the crowds, slowly stepping past the various citizens of the candy kingdom, trying not to give away his location. He found Marcus leaning up against a wall, holding a glass of punch in his hands "Marcus" hissed Zim.

Marcus glanced at the invisible Zim "What?"

"Change of plan, start the diversion" said Zim.

Marcus raised an eyebrow "Already?"

"Yes" hissed Zim.

Marcus rolled his eyes "Whatever" he downed his drink and tossed his cup aside. He marched over to Gir, who was devouring everything on the snack table, including forks, knives and napkins.

Marcus tapped Gir on the head "Time to get to work" said Marcus.

Gir saluted "ookie dokey!" using his rockets, he shot high into the air and soared over the crowd, landing on the far end of the foyer.

In the blink of an eye, Gir set up some microphones, drums, a keyboard and some loud speakers. Marcus, Malice and Mini-moose approached the instruments. Mini-moose drifted over to the drums, Marcus pulled an electric guitar from out of Gir's head and he pulled out a bass guitar and handed it to Malice. Lastly Gir took position on the keyboard.

The crowd stopped and they turned their attention to Marcus and Malice.

Marcus waved a hand and spoke into the microphone "Hi, well I don't know about you folks but I got to say, no anniversary party is complete without a bit of music, am I right?" the crowd muttered in agreement.

Marcus smiled a little "Good, now" he counted off "1..2..3"

Mini-moose began drumming a steady beat; Malice began strumming on the bass, followed by Marcus on guitar. Malice and Marcus hummed together then Marcus sang,

"_I used to feel so strange, _

_In my skin I was shaking, _

_I'd paint my room all black, and cover up all the walls."_

The crowd began to move along with the beat and some began to hum along

"_If you could rearrange what you saw in the mirror, _

_well tell me, _

_what would you change about the person you saw?" _Marcus began to tap his foot

"_And honestly, _

_honestly,_

_ if you just promise me, _

_promise me… _

_T__o stay forever, never ever leave my side,_

_ if the sun never rolls again,_

_ the moon will light the way my friend. _

_So stay forever, _

_you're my only friend tonight, _

_All we need is a shock of love, _

_in the dark, _

_we are electric hearts" _within minutes everyone was dancing along with the song.

Zim blinked in surprise "That worked? Er, I mean of course that worked!" Zim heard communicator crackle and a muffled voice speak.

Zim pulled his communicator from his pocket and answered, "What?"

"_I'm on my way"_ said Gaz "_Get Finn into position"_

Zim glanced around, looking for Finn till he spotted him on the other side of the foyer "Got it" said Zim, he switched off his communicator and activated his suit and he turned invisible again.

* * *

Floating above Zim, watching and listening to the whole thing was Marceline.

Marceline's eyes narrowed, Zim was planning to do something to Finn. She clenched her fist.

She wasn't going to let him get away with it and she was going to get some answers out of the pint-sized alien.

* * *

Finn stood up against a wall, deep in thought about his dream. Jake nudged his arm "Come on Finn, come enjoy the party"

"I can't Jake" sighed Finn "I just don't feel like it"

Jake frowned then shrugged "Whatever man" The song ended and the crowd of partygoers cheered and clapped.

Marcus bowed his head a little "Thank you"

"Encore!" cried someone.

Within seconds everyone began chanting for an encore.

Marcus sighed, "Ok, if you insist" the crowd cheered.

The room became filled with music once more and Marcus started singing

"_I got close_

_To your skin_

_While you were sleeping_

_I taste the_

_Salt on_

_Your hands_

_I reached out_

_To touch you_

_The morning light disarms you_

_Won't you let me_

_In?_

_Ohhhhhhh_

_How long till your surrender?_

_Ohhhhhhh_

_How long till your __Surrender?" _ Jake left and joined the crowd, leaving Finn alone.

Finn sighed as the party continued around him. Finn was deep in thought when he felt something nudging his arm. Finn glanced around and saw nothing. There was another nudge and still nothing. Finn glanced around and saw a white blob waving him over.

Finn frowned and thought it suspicious but his curiosity won. The human approached the blob but the blob quickly ducked through a doorway into a dark hall.

Finn muttered "Weird" something in his gut told him not to follow but something else told him to follow.

Finn entered the hall and he followed after the blob up a long flight of stairs.

Finn continued following the blob up the stairs till they reached a balcony that gave Finn an impressive view of the Candy Kingdom. Finn looked around for the blob "Where are you?" murmured the human.

Finn heard ghostly moaning "here".

Finn turned and got a better view of the blob. At first Finn thought it was a ghost but now that he got a better look at it, it looked like a floating blob of bed sheets with two eyeholes cut out than a ghost.

Finn frowned "Who are you?"

"A ghost" said the so-called ghost

"Why did you lead me up here?" asked Finn.

The ghost thought for a moment then answered, "To talk, about your mother"

"What do you know about my mother?" asked Finn.

The ghost glanced around and said "Much"

"Tell me what you know" said Finn.

The ghost nodded towards Finn "Ask her yourself" Finn frowned and he turned.

Finn's jaw dropped. Standing there was the woman from his dream.

She looked exactly as she did in the dream but she looked rested and she was dressed in dark purple robes "Hello, son" said the woman, warmly.

Finn blinked a few times then stuttered "m-mom?"

the woman nodded, her lips parted into a smile "You remember?"

"Not much" admitted Finn.

The woman extended her hand to Finn "Come with me"

"Where?" asked Finn

"Home" answered his mother. Part of Finn wanted to stay but there was a larger part of him that wanted to know more about his mother and his family. Finn put his hand in his mother's and the world around him blurred and changed.

Finn closed his eyes and when he opened them, he saw that he was no longer in the Candy Kingdom.

* * *

Zim saw Finn vanish before his eyes. Once Finn was gone, he threw off the sheets and sighed "Phew, that was easy"

Gaz extended a lithe hand to Zim "My gem?" Zim blinked then he remembered "Oh yes" he reached into his pack and tossed Gaz the gem.

Gaz caught it and pocketed it "Our arrangement has been fulfilled" said Gaz.

Zim sighed in relief "Good, that's good, heh, heh," he laughed nervously but stopped when Gaz glared at him.

Zim coughed "sorry"

"Whatever" grunted Gaz.

She reached into her pocket and tossed Zim a small metal cube that had the Irken Empire's brand on it "Your cube and as promised, I will not interfere with the surface world" said Gaz.

Zim caught the cube and thanked Gaz. Gaz just sighed, muttering something under her breath and she vanished in a column of violet fire.

Zim studied the cube in his hands

"Its mine, its all mine!" said Zim, breathlessly.

Zim heard footsteps and he found himself pinned to the ground "Get off me!" screeched Zim

"Not until you answer me!" growled a familiar voice.

Zim's eyes widened when he saw assailant was. "You!" he exclaimed.

It was Marceline.

Marceline was dressed in casual clothing and was carrying what looked like a large, red axe.

Marceline leveled the axe to Zim's throat growling, "Tell me, everything about Marcus!"

"What about him?" asked Zim

"Is he really my brother?" asked Marceline.

Zim frowned but suddenly it dawned on him "You! You were the little girl"

"What are you talking about?" asked the vampire.

Zim nodded "Yes, it was you wasn't it? The little girl who tried break into my home, you tried to free him!" Marceline frowned.

Zim's words sounded familiar but she couldn't remember anything he was mentioning. "I-I don't remember" said Marceline,

Zim rolled his eyes "Of course not, with the memory suppression chip you shouldn't remember anything"

"what?" said Marceline raising an eyebrow.

Zim sighed and said slowly "I put a chip in your brain to suppress your memories, so you wouldn't alert the authorities"

"If that's true, then how do i remember Marcus?" asked Marceline.

Zim frowned "Family ties are strong and due to a thousand years of aging, the chip may be weaker than it was, letting out some old memories"

Marceline's eyes narrowed "Can you shut it off?"

"Yes" said Zim

"Do it" said Marceline.

Zim stammered "W-well I don't think-"

"Do it!" growled Marceline, her eyes glowed red and she bared her fangs.

Zim's mouth snapped shut and he quickly typed something into his wrist computer. After a minute, Zim looked up to Marceline "It's done".

Something Marceline's head clicked and suddenly a tidal wave of images, emotions and thoughts flooded her mind. Marceline clutched her head feeling a sharp pain in her head, like a thousand knives and needles were slowly driving themselves into her skull.

She groaned in pain and dropped to her knees. The images rushed through her head faster and faster, the pain grew even more intense.

Marceline held onto her head moaning, "Make it stop"

"I tried to warn you" said Zim "But did you listen to Zim? Nooo you didn't".

Thousands of years flashed across the vampire's eyes and suddenly the pain exploded like a small bomb had been placed in side her head. Marceline fell face first to the floor.

As she faded from consciousness, she muttered "I…remember" her eyes closed and she went limp.

* * *

Zim stood there quietly staring at the unconscious vampire on the ground. He nudged the vampire's leg lightly with his foot "Uh, are you ok?" he asked.

Marceline didn't move.

Zim scratched his chin then he exclaimed "Victory for Zim!" he quickly rushed back inside and he slammed the door to the balcony shut. Zim melted the lock using a laser he stored in his pak and he quickly returned to the party invisibly.

In a matter of hours, the party ended. The partygoers began going home.

Marcus and Malice said goodbye to the princess and they made their way home with only moonlight lighting their way home.

As they made their way back to the base, a bright light streaked across the sky "Make a wish" said Marcus.

Gir began rattling off his wish list, Mini-moose squeaked a few times and Zim just kept muttering, "Shut up, shut up, shut up".

* * *

Miles away, the light arced across the night and it slammed into the earth like an asteroid, creating a massive crater. In the heart of the crater was a small, sleek spacecraft.

The lid slid open and out jumped a purple-eyed Irken with a scar across her face "I'm coming to Zim" she growled to no one "Prepare yourself for unimaginable pain and suffering". Tak crawled out of the crater and pulled out a small tracking device from her Pak.

On the small screen she saw a single Irken life sign. Tak shoved the device back into her Pak and she began marching towards the life sign, ready to rain horrible vengeance down on Zim.

End of chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: To be continued... Well folks i'm putting this story on hold, i don't know for how long but i may or may not update. Review and all that. Lyrics are from the song's 'Electric Heart' and 'Your surrender' by Neon Trees.)**


	10. Act 10:For the World is Hollow

**(a/n: Well, i'm back. Here's a neat little chapter to get things started again. Enjoy)**

* * *

Act 10: For the World is Hollow

Finn's eyes blinked open and were greeted by the sight of a smooth, obsidian ceiling.

Finn frowned and he sat up. The boy saw that he was lying on a soft couch in a spacious office.

The walls were lined with bookcases that were stuffed with old leather books. There was a large, wooden desk with a large leather chair sitting before a wide window that had its curtains drawn.

Finn rose to his feet and he approached the desk. On the desk were some pencils, some journals and two picture frames.

In one frame was the picture of three people. The first was a tall, slim man. The man wore a white lab coat, goggles, and black gloves and had a single piece of long jagged black hair on his head. Standing beside him was a small boy dressed in a black jacket, glasses and had a similar hairstyle to the man.

The last person in the picture was a young girl dressed in black. She had spiky purple hair and a scowl on her face.

Finn recognized her as the woman from the party.

In the other frame was a picture of a woman and a baby. In the photo, the woman wore a black dress and had a calm expression. In her arms, wrapped in a blue blanket was a small, sleeping baby.

Finn heard a door open; he looked up and saw that it was a young man dressed in a dark green business suit and a bowler hat. The young man had short, jet-black hair, blue eyes and pale skin.

He spotted Finn "Oh good you're awake" he grinned.

He walked over to Finn. He took off his bowler hat and tossed it onto the couch "My how you've grown" said the stranger.

Finn saw that the young man was taller by a foot and several years older. The stranger's smile widened a little "Well, say something! Aren't you excited that you're back?"

"I'm sorry but I don't think I know you" said Finn "I don't know what's going on"

The stranger frowned a little but he nodded "Oh, right you wouldn't recognize this place or me" the stranger's smile returned "But that's alright, we can just get reacquainted"

"What?" said Finn.

The stranger cleared his throat "My name is Alex, I'm your cousin" Finn's eyes widened in shock.

Finn wanted to say something but he just fumbled for words "w-wha…huh?"

Alex pulled Finn into an embrace "Good to see you again, cousin" "Huh?" said Finn in confusion.

There was a soft beeping. Alex released Finn from his embrace and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a small digital watch "Oh look at the time!" exclaimed Alex "We better get going".

Alex scooped up his hat and went to the door. He stopped and turned "Well come on" urged Alex "You don't want to keep your mother waiting"

"Mom?" said Finn

Alex nodded "Yes and if we hurry, we can still get there before the evening traffic" "traffic?" said Finn "There are other people here?"

Alex rolled his eyes "Yes, now lets go, we can't afford to be late" he walked out the door and Finn hurried after him.

Finn and Alex entered an elevator and descended to the ground floor.

Once there, Alex led Finn through an empty lobby and through a set of glass doors. Finn found himself standing in a street.

He looked up and saw that there was no sky. Instead it was a roof of earth and stone. Finn's eyes drifted around the street. The street was devoid of life and it was lit by electrical streetlamps. Finn looked back and saw that the office where he awoke was in a tall spire of glass and steel.

Alex spoke "Ah, our ride is here" Finn turned and saw a sleek, grey metal vehicle slow to a stop in front of them.

Alex motioned for Finn to follow him.

Finn and Alex climbed into the vehicle and the door slid shut on its own.

Occupying the front seats were two men in matching grey uniforms. One man had dark grey hair and the other was younger and had dark hair.

The grey haired man looked at them through the rearview mirror "Where to sir?"

"Home" said Alex.

The man nodded "Sure thing", the vehicle hummed to life and it rose from the ground a few feet. Finn looked out of his window and saw that the vehicle was hovering a few feet above the ground. The vehicle lurched forward suddenly "Sorry" mumbled the dark haired man in the driver's seat.

The driver muttered something and they continued on with their journey.

The vehicle glided down the street. Finn watched as dull grey buildings drift past. He saw some people in dark grey clothing walking on the sidewalks. Finn was surprised. He had never seen another human before. Some were men, some were women, one of them looked elderly. They noticed the car passing by and they all began whispering something to each other.

Finn saw more streets, stretching out beyond his sight. He saw some houses, shops and restaurants with people going about their business.

Finn turned to Alex "How many people live here?" Alex pondered Finn's question for a moment then answered "Last time I counted, I would say close to half a million"

"Whoa" breathed Finn

"Yes, well we have our grandfather to thank for that" said Alex. The vehicle zigzagged up a hill and it passed through a set of iron gates.

The vehicle came to a stop in front of an impressive looking home. It was large, elegant and old.

The two passengers got out.

Finn looked up at the house in awe "Whose house is that?"

"Yours" answered Alex.

Finn's jaw dropped "Seriously?"

"Seriously" said Alex, nodding. Alex marched up to the front doors, Finn followed. Alex withdrew a key from his pocket and opened the doors.

Alex stepped aside and Finn walked in. The foyer was dark and Finn couldn't see anything. Suddenly lights came on and multiple voices shouted "Surprise!" Finn blinked and he found himself surrounded by a crowd of people.

Finn slowly turned and studied the faces. Each one of them were human and they looked genuinely glad to see him.

Finn saw that they were all wearing brightly colored clothes and party hats.

Finn glanced back at Alex and he saw hanging above the door was a banner that said "_Welcome home"_

Alex whispered "Say something"

"Uh" said Finn, hesitating for a moment "Uh, thanks I guess".

The crowd seemed relieved and they clapped lightly "Glad you liked it" said a familiar voice.

Everyone in the crowd muttered and they parted, revealing Finn's mother.

She was dressed in a dark purple business suit her face was relatively calm. Finn breathed "Mom"

The corners of his mother's mouth twitched and they spread a little into a small smile "Welcome home, son".

* * *

Meanwhile, miles above on the surface, Zim stood on a boulder holding his prize aloft in one hand "Finally, it is mine" said Zim "It is mine again!"

"That's great", said Marcus, crossing his arms "But what exactly is _**it**_?"

Zim turned to his minion "It is the final and most important piece to my ultimate plan at conquest!" he stroked the box "With it, I will become the greatest invader ever!"

"Right" said Marcus, rolling his eyes.

Zim smiled "Glad that you can agree with me"

"So what's the plan?" yawned Malice who looked exhausted.

Zim had woken his minions very early that morning. The five of them journey away from the base for about two hours till Zim told the group to stop. They were standing alone in a grassy field that seemed to stretch on forever beneath the predawn sky.

Gir was laying in the grass snoring loudly, Mini-Moose floated between Marcus and Malice. A cool breeze swept through them, Malice shuddered and wrapped her coat around her shivering frame tightly.

Marcus shoved his hands in his coat pockets, letting the cool wind wash over him.

Zim shivered a little, Mini-moose and Gir remained unfazed "Can we hurry this up?" asked Malice "I'm cold"

Zim shivered "ok, ok" he reached into his Pak and withdrew two objects.

The first was a long metal rod made of a purple alloy with a vast array of buttons on its surface. The second one was a pair of metal tongs.

Zim placed the box Gaz returned to him on the ground. He picked up the tongs and he handed the rod to Marucs "Open it" instructed Zim.

Marcus nodded and he pressed one of the many buttons that adorned it. A small section of the rod slid open, revealing a compartment. Zim nodded "good, now hold it still".

Zim placed the box on the ground. He reached down and pressed the Irken empire symbol on the lid. The symbol glowed purple and the lid slid open, revealing a small, bluish white object that shined like a miniature sun.

Zim picked up the tongs and he used them to pick up the object.

Slowly, but carefully, Zim placed the object into the compartment. Once inside, the compartment sealed itself up.

Zim sighed in relief "It is done"

Malice frowned "That's it?"

"That was only phase one" said Zim "Phase two begins now" Marcus pressed another button and a large drill head popped out of the top of the rod. Marcus planted the rod into the earth drill first.

The drill whirred and it began to dig, kicking up some earth. The group watched as the rod slowly sank into the earth and vanish from sight.

Once out of sight Zim explained, "This rod is based off of the technology that I used to create my base. It will drill till it reaches the appropriate depth then it will activate and transform into my ultimate weapon"

"Which is?" asked Malice.

Zim told Malice the name of the weapon and she blanched "You have one?" breathed Malice "H-how did you get it?"

"Some Plookesians were kind enough to give us one" said Zim.

Malice frowned "But why didn't you use it before?"

"Because, in order to use it, it required a special source of energy that fits its massive energy requirements" said Zim "I searched for a long time but I finally found one, the heart of a neutron star"

Malice and Marcus gave Zim worried looks.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Malice, unease crept into her voice "That stuff is pretty powerful and pretty unstable"

"I know what I am doing" said Zim, brushing off her concern.

Marcus raised a hand like a student in class "Uh, question"

"What?" said Zim

"Why are we out here, when we could have done this at the base?" asked Marcus.

Zim rolled his eyes "Because the transformation process would've destroyed the base. Anything within at least two hundred yards of the device while it is in its first stage would be in serious danger"

"aren't we at least two hundred yards away from the device?" asked Malice

"And isn't it in its first stage?" added Marcus.

Zim frowned a little then it dawned on him. The earth beneath their feet began to shake violently, Zim swore in Irken and he yelled, "Run!"

Marcus scooped up Gir and Mini-moose in his arms and took off after the small Irken with Malice running beside him.

The ground shook even more and it began to split, opening large cracks in the earth. Large metal coils shot up out of the earth and it began to slither around. Large metal plates and rods rose from the earth. The group watched as coils, plates and other materials rise from the earth and click together. Within a matter of minutes the rumbling stopped and where a patch of grass and stone once was, a gigantic, metal tower replaced it.

Zim stared up at the tower triumphantly "Phase two complete"

"I can't believe it" breathed Malice, her eye was wide.

Marcus frowned "What? Its just a tower"

"Its not just a tower" said Malice "It's an Apocalypse Tower"

"That sounds bad" said Gir

"It is" said Malice.

Zim turned to his minions "Its only bad for our enemies, not for us"

"I don't know" said Malice "Apocalypse Towers are notorious for being incredibly dangerous to use"

Zim just waved a hand "Pfft, please any leaser invader may mess up, but not Invader Zim!"

Malice sighed "Whatever, don't come crying to me if it all goes wrong".

Marcus nodded approvingly "Impressive tower. But how the hell is it going to help us?"

"Oh you shall see my friend," said Zim ominously "You shall see" Zim turned back to face the tower "Now, lets get back to the base"

"So we can get some sleep?" asked Marcus

"No, so we can prepare for our last operation" said Zim

"What operation is that?" asked Marcus, sounding a little irritated "Operation Fluffy Cats?" "No!" said Zim "That's Plan B, this operation is called, Operation Apocalypse!"

* * *

In the Candy Kingdom, Princess Bubblegum paced back and forth muttering to herself.

An hour earlier she had found Marceline lying unconscious outside and she managed to get her inside before sunrise.

Right now she was in the infirmary, resting peacefully.

But what troubled Princess Bubblegum was that Marceline was muttering something over and over but she couldn't make sense of it.

Princess Bubblegum glanced back to the bedridden vampire muttering, "Please be ok".

* * *

Marceline's eyes fluttered open.

The vampire found herself looking up at a dull grey ceiling. She sat up and saw that she was in the bed she slept in when she was a child.

Marceline glanced at the sky outside her window.

The sky was dark grey and a chilly breeze blew through the open window.

Marceline glanced around at her old room. The walls were light pink with some shelves holding some old toys she used to play. She felt a sense of nostalgia wash over her as she faintly remembered her childhood.

Marceline saw something on the bedside table. She picked it up and saw that it was a picture frame with a picture of her father, her mother, herself and Marcus.

Marceline said aloud "What is this?"

"You don't recognize it do you?" asked a smooth voice. The vampire looked around "What? Who said that?"

Suddenly a column of jet-black smoke erupted from the floor beside Marceline's bed. Once the smoke dissipated, Marceline saw the source of the voice. It was a man dressed in an expensive black suit, he wore a black necktie and it dangled loosely around his neck. He had blood red hair; dark colored eyes and an unnaturally pale complexion "it's your memories" said the man.

Marceline frowned "Who are you?"

"Me? I go by many names, a few that are now lost to time but you can call me Lucas" said the man as he bowed theatrically.

He rose "Nice to see you again Marceline, last I saw you, you were this tall" he held out a hand to his hip, indicating Marceline's old height.

"How do you know my name?" asked the vampire.

The man smiled warmly "Well you could say I'm a friend of your father"

"My dad?" said Marceline in confusion "What dose he have to do with this?"

"Well nothing really" admitted Lucas, scratching his chin.

"I was in the neighborhood and I saw that you were in a bit of a jam so I decided to help. Not out of the goodness of my heart, because I have none. You could say that I'm just returning a favor" said Lucas.

Marceline's eyes narrowed "Favor?"

"Yeah well you could say I owe your father, he's house sitting for me while I enjoy some time off" said Lucas, waving his hand a little

"House sitting?" asked Marceline.

Lucas grinned, "The Nightosphere wasn't always known as the Nightosphere, kiddo and it sure wasn't your papa's domain".

Lucas coughed and sat down on the edge of the bed "Well, anyway what's up?"

"You said this was my memory" said Marceline "What do you mean by that?"

"Ah now that's quite a yarn, you see" said Lucas as he gestured to the their surroundings "We are currently inside the deepest recess of your mind, where all of your oldest memories were once buried" he tapped his temple "Thanks to that pesky little alien's memory chip, those memories were safely buried deep down here. But now that the chip is gone, those memories are flooding back in like a tidal wave"

"Yeah, so?" said Marceline "What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that thousands of years of unaltered memories are flooding your entire brain" explained Lucas, his tone growing serious "And in this chaotic state, your mind is trying to process all that new data but its too much for it. On any given day, those memories would've overwhelmed you and would've caused some serious damage but luckily for you it didn't"

He frowned "Unfortunately, your mind, in an effort to keep order of the chaotic memories, built a labyrinth inside your head to trap the memories inside and keep the rest of your mind intact while the memories eventually settle into place. A neat little defense mechanism but it accidentally put the conscious part of you inside as well"

Marceline frowned in confusion "What?"

"In other words, you're trapped inside your own mind, rendering you in a coma" said Lucas.

Marceline's eyes widened in shock "What!"

"Don't worry your precious little head" said Lucas, patting Marceline on the head "Dear Uncle Lucas is here to help"

"How?" she asked.

"Go through a trail of your memories, all the way back to consciousness" said Lucas "Your memories are slowly settling in but the labyrinth has still got you trapped and it won't lower anytime soon, unless you take a short cut by revisit your harsher memories and put them to rest"

She shook her head "No, no I won't do it"

"Why not?" asked Lucas.

Marceline glared at the man "There are horrible things in my memories, I can't face them again, I won't"

"Come on" urged Lucas "If you don't go now, all that raw emotion and memory will only get stronger making it harder to get through. We must go now!"

Marceline shook her head "No"

Lucas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "Fine, you know what stay here, I'm out of here. I tried to be nice for once in several millennia like Father and Mike have wanted and here i am, trying to help somebody but do you accept my help? Noooo…" he got up from the bed, muttering a string of curses.

As he approached the door Marceline called after him "Wait!"

He turned "What?"

"What will happen if you leave me here?" asked the vampire.

Lucas sighed, "You stay trapped inside the labyrinth of your own memories. Out in the real world, you will remain in a coma for the rest of your natural life"

Lucas tapped his chin "Though if I were you, I would stay and enjoy the reruns of the golden years"

Marceline frowned "Why?"

Lucas shrugged "Oh nothing, its just that silly alien Zim, he's going to start his plan for world domination again"

Marceline exclaimed "What? And what do you mean again?"

Lucas waved a hand lazily "Oh, poor little Zim has been at this game of conquest for a long time but to no success. Usually his plans blow up in his face. But mow he's going to try and conquer the world again. Normally I would just laugh and wait for the fireworks but this one's a doozey and it might just succeed"

Marceline thought for a moment.

Zim was going to try and conquer the world.

She didn't want to relive the horrors that happened long ago but she wasn't going to sit by and let Zim conquer Ooo.

Marceline got up from the bed "I'm coming with you"

"Thought you might" said Lucas, smiling.

He opened the door, revealing a dark endless abyss.

Lucas grabbed Marceline's hand "Hold on tightly" said Lucas as he stepped into the darkness "Things might just get a bit bumpy".

Marceline took a deep breath and she followed Lucas into the darkness.

End of Chapter

* * *

**(a/n: i know its not much but its a start. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. review!)**


	11. Act 11: Nightmares on Memory Lane

**(a/n: i hope you enjoy this. Please review!)**

* * *

Act 11: Nightmares on Memory Lane

After what seemed like hours, Lucas and Marceline emerged from the darkness.

The two found themselves standing on a sidewalk near a busy city intersection.

The sun hung high in the clear sky above. Cars rushing past, birds chirped and people walked past the vampire and the red haired man. Marceline stared at the people with wide eyes.

It had been a thousand years since she last saw a human being, besides Simon and Finn.

Marceline reached out to touch a man who was passing by but her hand went right through him.

Marceline pulled back her hand in shock "What the heck?" she tried to touch another man but her hand went right through him as well.

Marceline turned to Lucas "Why can't I touch them?"

"They aren't real," said Lucas, he shoved his hands into his pockets, "Remember, this is all in your head. These people are long gone. These are just echoes, faces of those who passed on from this sphere of existence long ago"

Marceline sighed, "Right".

Her eyes drifted around at her surroundings. The buildings, the cars, the people, even the warmth of the sun, it all looked and felt real.

Marceline glanced to Lucas "Where are we?"

"How should I know?" said Lucas, shrugging "Its your memory, you figure it out"

"You said that you were going to guide me out of this labyrinth" said Marceline.

Lucas sighed, "I said I can guide you but I don't know what specific memories we are going to encounter"

"What dose that mean?" asked Marceline.

Lucas looked up at the sky "The shortcut I'm currently leading you through will get you out of the maze but it is blocked by some of your oldest memories, in order to get through I will have to take you through each one and you must put them to rest in order to exit the labyrinth and get back to consciousness"

"How?" asked Marceline

Lucas shrugged "You'll figure it out, but for now focus on your surroundings and remember where we are".

Marceline sighed and she began to focus on her surroundings.

The street looked familiar, very familiar. In fact, Marceline had a strong sense of Déjà vu.

After a moment, something clicked "I know this place" breathed Marceline.

Lucas smiled "Now we're getting somewhere"

Marceline turned to the redhead "I used to pass this street on my way to school" "Uh huh, and?" said Lucas, nodding slowly

Marceline hesitated for a moment then said "I also walked home this way, I think I stopped to get an ice cream here once"

"Indeed you did" said Lucas.

Marceline's brows furrowed "How do you know that?"

Lucas jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

Marceline glanced over Lucas's shoulder and she gaped at what she saw. Across the street stood a younger Marceline and a very human looking Marcus buying some ice cream from an ice cream truck.

Marceline looked at the scene then to Lucas, who just looked completely bored.

Lucas turned and noted the two on the other side of the street "Ah, yes well this is your memory after all"

"No… its not that" said Marceline, she stepped past Lucas and walked to the edge of the sidewalk to get a better look of herself and her brother.

Marceline shook her head "Its just…Its like some weird dream, seeing him and myself" she glanced back at the redhead "I remember two different versions of this. I remember that I was alone and I remember that" she nodded to the two.

Lucas smiled a little "You're remembering. Your brain is trying to decide which is real and which is fake. Once you decide which is real, then your brain will delete the fake" Lucas shrugged "Its like removing corrupted files from a computer hard drive."

Marceline turned to the other her and the other Marcus. The two were holding hands and Marcus was listening to Marceline talk as she licked the ice cream cone in her hand. Marcus smiled and said something that made the young Marceline giggle. Something about the scene felt…right.

Marceline nodded "This is real, I know it"

"Good" said Lucas.

Suddenly the ground beneath their feet shattered into a million pieces like fragile glass, revealing an endless black void. Marceline let out a terrified scream while Lucas just hooted with laughter.

* * *

For what seemed like hours, Marceline and Lucas fell through eternal darkness.

Marceline thought the nothingness would ever end but suddenly she landed on hard, solid ground and she found herself staring up at a cloudy afternoon sky.

Marceline sat up groaning and she looked around at her new surroundings.

Marceline saw that she was on a sidewalk in front of a row of houses. Marceline blinked and she got to her feet. The vampire looked around for the red haired man "Lucas?" she called out.

Her eyes darted about but she couldn't see him. She began to feel panic. Without Lucas, she was going to be stuck in a coma forever.

Marceline raised her voice "Lucas! Lucas where are you?"

"Here I am!" said Lucas.

Marceline glanced around but she couldn't see him "Up here!" he called.

She looked up and saw Lucas above her, slowly floating to the ground. He landed next to Marceline, brushing dust off his suit.

Lucas saw the look of surprise on Marceline's face "What?"

"How did you do that?" asked Marceline.

Lucas shrugged "I can do anything, even in the mind of a lowly creature such as yourself" his voice dropped to a mutter "well, almost anything".

He coughed "So, where are we?"

"I think this is my old neighborhood" said Marceline, glancing around at the surrounding houses.

Lucas nodded "Good, now what else?"

Marceline looked around and at the quite neighborhood. Everything was dead silent; nobody was out in the street. Marceline frowned. This scene was very familiar and her gut started to form a knot "No…" she breathed.

Lucas's eyes glinted and he smiled "Ah, so you do remember this. Good, because I surely do"

Marceline turned to the man "How?"

Lucas didn't answer.

They heard a siren wail. The two turned and saw a white ambulance race up the street towards them. Instinctively, Marceline dived out of the way while Lucas just stood there. The emergency vehicle zoomed right through him and Lucas came out unscathed.

Lucas looked at Marceline who was lying on the ground beside him, looking surprised "What? Its just a memory, remember?" said Lucas.

Marceline blushed a little "Right, sorry" she got to her feet and she watched the ambulance race down the empty street.

Marceline watched and silently prayed that it wasn't going where she thought it was going.

In the distance, she could see that the ambulance had skidded to a halt in front the house on the corner.

Her heart sank into her gut.

A few paramedics hopped out and unloaded a gurney from the back. Lucas glanced to Marceline and he smiled, "Lets get a closer look" he grabbed her hand and suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the two were standing a few feet away from the ambulance.

Marceline glanced back at where they were standing before. It was ten houses away and they had crossed that distance before she could even react.

Before she could ask Lucas how he did that, she heard a small voice cry "No!"

She turned towards the source of the voice and her heart stopped.

Marceline watched as two paramedics wheel a dark haired woman out of the house and she saw her younger self standing in the doorway, crying for them to not take her mother.

Marceline watched as her younger self tried to run after them but she saw her father stepped in her path and stopped her.

His face completely ashen and he looked at a loss for words. Hunson knelt down and tried to find words to comfort his daughter.

The younger Marceline was still crying and tried to get free of her father's grip.

Hunson nodded to Marcus, who just scooped up the sobbing, little girl and carried her back inside the house.

Marceline squeezed her eyes shut "no more…please"

"No can do" said Lucas, solemnly "You chose to come along and now your going to have to rough it. So shut up and take it like big girl" She heard her younger self scream for her mother.

Marceline tried to block out the flood of emotions that came racing back to her but it was too much.

Tears leaked out and ran down her cheeks.

Images flashed before the vampire's eyes. Her mother and herself were in the kitchen.

Her mother was making chocolate cookies and was congratulating her on having perfect grades.

Suddenly her mother dropped the pan of cookies and clutched her heart. Her breathing became ragged and she sank to the cold, tiled floor gasping for air. Marceline screamed for her father and in an instant her father came running in. His face became white as a sheet and he quickly called for an ambulance.

Marceline sniffed and her eyes opened. The vampire croaked "Why?" she turned to the redhead.

Lucas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "I warned you. I said the way out was going to be filled with your oldest memories, this among them. I didn't say that it would be painless but you would have to assume that revisiting your old memories would bring back the pain".

He waved a hand "Just make peace with this memory or whatever, I want to get out this emotional train wreck as soon as possible" he turned and walked away from the scene, leaving Marceline alone with the other dad.

She and her father watched as the paramedics open the back of the ambulance.

The paramedics prepared to load Marceline's mother into the ambulance but her father told them to stop. Marceline watched as her father takes his wife's hand into his and he whispered something that sounded like an apology. He planted a kiss on the woman's forehead.

With that, the paramedics loaded Marceline's mother into the ambulance.

Once she was inside, the paramedics hopped into the front seats and the emergency vehicle took off like a shot, racing towards the nearest hospital.

Marceline and her father stood there and watched as the emergency vehicle disappear from sight.

Marceline took a deep breath and whispered "Goodbye".

Suddenly everything around Marceline became blurry and the scene melted away like ink in water.

* * *

The scene around her shifted into the familiar endless black void.

She stood there alone in the darkness for only a few moments then suddenly the darkness was replaced by light and warmth.

Marceline shielded her eyes from the intense light with her hands. Once her eyes had adjusted, Marceline lowered her hands and saw her new surroundings.

The vampire saw that she was standing on a hill that overlooked the city where she once lived in.

Marceline saw that the sun was slowly sinking beyond the horizon, giving the sky an orange color.

"What are you doing here?" asked a familiar voice.

Marceline turned and she saw Marcus standing there. He was dressed in a jet-black suit with a matching bowtie. His hair was long and shaggy with no trace of grey.

Marcus gave Marceline a questioning look "well?"

Marceline stammered for a moment. Could Marcus see her? Marceline shook her head. Of course not, it was only a memory.

She heard sniffling "I-I want to be alone".

Marceline turned and saw her younger self, sitting on ground.

The little girl was dressed in white shirt and black overalls. Her eyes were red and puffy and tears were running down her cheeks.

Marcus sighed, "Marcy, you can just go running off like that. Everyone's worried sick about you"

"I don't care" mumbled Marcy, wiping the tears off her cheeks.

Marcus raised an eyebrow "Why?"

"I miss mom" said the younger Marceline.

Marcus sighed sadly "Me too" he walked over to his younger sister and knelt down "But that doesn't mean that you should go running off like that. Dad was worried sick".

Marceline sniffed and mumbled an apology.

Marcus sighed deeply and said slowly "I know how you feel. I miss mom too but just because she's gone, it doesn't mean you should be sad"

"It doesn't?" said the young girl.

Marcus shook his head "No, because you still have dad and me"

Marcy sniffled "But what about mom?"

"She's in a better place now" said Marcus.

Marceline remembered this memory. It was a few hours after the funeral for her mother. After they had buried her mother and said their goodbyes, Marceline ran away. Eventually Marcus found her and managed to cheer her up.

The younger Marceline perked up "Really?"

"I think so" said Marcus "In this crazy life, I try to be optimistic. If I don't, then life would be pretty bleak. Just remember that even though she's gone, she's probably in a better place than here ".

The little girl wiped her nose on her sleeve "Thanks Marcus"

"No problem, kiddo" said Marcus, patting the young girl on her head.

He scooped her up in his arms and the two made their way back home.

Marceline heard her younger self ask, "Can we get ice cream?"

"Sure" said Marcus

"And some pizza from Bloaty's?" asked Marceline.

Marcus chuckled "Don't push your luck".

Marceline smiled and watched as they slowly vanish from sight. "He's not wrong you know" said a familiar voice.

She glanced to her left and she saw Lucas standing there with a half eaten hot dog in his hand.

He nodded at the small, distant form of Marcus "Your brother, he's not wrong about your mother, she definitely is in a better place I guarantee you. Your father on the other hand-"

"Where were you?" asked Marceline

"Getting some food" answered Lucas as he took a bite out of the hot dog, "and trying not to lose my lunch over all this mushy crap".

Marceline's eyebrows rose "Where did you get that?"

Lucas shrugged "Popped out of here and got it from a hot dog stand, where else?"

Marceline scowled "You can teleport out of my mind and get food? Why didn't you just pull me out that way?"

"I didn't want to" answered Lucas, taking another bite of his hot dog

"Why not?" asked Marceline.

Lucas sighed in annoyance then explained, "Your mind would've been scrambled and you would live out the rest of your immortal life as a drooling vegetable."

Marceline was going to ask him more questions when suddenly the ground beneath them shook.

The silence around them was interrupted by a series of muffled booms that sounded like distant thunder. Once the ground stopped shaking and the booming stopped, Marceline frowned "I don't remember that happening"

"That's because that is not part of any of your memories" said Lucas.

Marceline looked at him and she watched him roll up his sleeve a little, revealing a small, expensive watch.

He looked at the watch then muttered, "Huh, they're a little early"

"Wait, who?" asked Marceline, feeling confused.

Lucas glanced at her and said, "If I were a betting man, which I certainly am, I would say that Zim has just begun his little bid for world conquest"

"What!" exclaimed Marceline.

Lucas tapped his chin thoughtfully "I would also say that we're getting close to the exit, considering that we can hear what is going in the real world, but we still have some memories left in our path"

"Well lets go" said Marceline.

Lucas's eyebrows rose a little "Somebody's a little eager" he raised one hand and he snapped his fingers and everything went dark.

* * *

The world around them dissolved and was replaced by the familiar scene of Marceline's old home.

The two were standing in the main living room. It was bright and sunny outside, golden sunlight spilled into the empty room.

Lucas nodded a little in approval "Nice place you have here".

Before she could speak, there was a loud thud coming from behind them.

The two turned and saw Marcus standing a few feet away with his back to them.

Marceline's eyes widened. Marcus was wearing the standard green uniform of the military.

At his feet was a duffel bag. Marceline's heart sank into the pit of her stomach.

Marceline's father walked in and helped straightened his son's uniform "Thanks dad" said Marcus

"It's the least I can do" said Hunson. He looked his son in the eye and said quietly "Why?"

"Why what?" said Marcus

"Why did you enlist?" asked his father.

Marcus sighed, "You know why, I want to do my part for my country. I have nothing left for me here"

"Its madness" said Hunson "Have you seen the news? Have you seen what is going on?"

"Yes dad" said Marcus "Its war"

"It's Hell on Earth!" said Hunson, his voice growing a little louder "Its every nation for itself and each nation is unleashing a horrifying new weapon every week and each nation is ready to toss a bunch of poor bastards into the fire to keep this war going"

"I know" said Marcus, brushing off his father's concern.

Marcus turned to leave but Hunson grabbed his son's shoulder and spun him around "Listen to me damn it!" growled Hunson.

Marcus stared at his father coldly "Why should I?"

"You know damn well why!" spat Hunson "You know how much I sacrificed for this family! What I had to do to ensure our future!"

"Yeah and we both know how well that's working out" sneered Marcus "Just look how that turned out for mom".

Hunson snarled and tightened his grip on his son, "Don't. Ever. Talk. About. Her"

Marcus let out a cold, humorless laugh "Why? After what you've done, I'm glad that she's gone. I'm glad that she's not here to see that deal that you have made. If she was here, she would be ashamed of you and she'd be pissed that you've damned us all to-"

There was a loud crack and Marcus was on the ground with blood oozing out of his nose.

Hunson stood over Marcus with a clenched fist and his body was trembling with fury.

Marceline gaped at the scene. She had never seen her father that furious before.

Lucas cupped his hands around his mouth and said in singsong "Drama!"

Marcus pushed himself up from the ground and wiped the blood from his nose. He looked at the blood on his hand then to his father.

Marcus muttered, "That's how it's going to be? Fine"

Hunson didn't say anything but he looked rather shocked at what he had done.

Marcus wobbled to his feet and he scooped up his duffle bag. He wiped away the last of the blood from his nose and walked out of the room.

Hunson, Marceline and Lucas followed.

Marcus threw open the door and said without looking back "Tell Marcy I said bye" he slammed the door shut, leaving Hunson alone with Marceline and Lucas.

Hunson unclenched his fist and his furious expression faded. He clutched his head moaning "Oh God" he walked away.

He made his way to the kitchen and he sat down at the kitchen table. Hunson buried his face into his hands.

Marceline looked at Lucas "I don't remember this at all, even with all my old memories, I don't ever remember that"

Lucas scratched the back of his head "Yeah well this is your memory but I had to borrow this from your dad"

"Why?" asked Marceline

"Zim deleted the old one by accident when he was installing the memory suppression chip" answered Lucas.

Marceline shook her head; Zim was beginning to be a real pain in the neck. Marceline took one last look at her father.

This was the last time she's seen him as a human being.

* * *

The kitchen around them melted away and Marceline found herself standing in an empty street.

The buildings around her were now mountains of rubble.

The once clear sky was now polluted with thick clouds of black smoke.

She spotted a large red-bricked school building that had a sign that said "Skool".

In front of the school building was a row of busses lined up with at least several soldiers standing guard around the buses. Marceline watched as a bunch of exhausted teachers heard their students into the buses.

She heard a familiar voice growl, "Move it you useless sacks of pus!" the vampire's eyes landed on a tall elderly woman dressed in black.

The old woman watched as the children slowly boarded the bus.

the woman's eyes narrowed, "not that it will make any difference, we're all doomed anyways. We might as well sit here and wait for our impending deaths and- what is it Dib?"

Marceline saw a small boy with a large head waving his hand in the air "Miss Bitters, have you seen Zim?"

"No Dib, I have not" growled Miss Bitters.

Marceline distantly remembered Miss Bitters from school. She always found the old woman to be terrifying and very gloomy. Dib was vaguely familiar. She remembered hearing people at school talk about Dib and his crazy theories about aliens and monsters.

Marceline heard Dib exclaim "Exactly! Where is Zim? Huh, anyone?"

"What are you whining about now Dib?" grumbled an annoyed girl with purple hair.

Dib turned to the girl "Gaz, its Zim! He's probably hatching some scheme to use the confusion of the war to his advantage"

"Why should you care?" said Gaz "He'll probably get himself killed anyway"

"But what if he doesn't?" prompted Dib

"Then he'll be stuck in an nuclear waste land, with only a bunch of cockroaches and corpses to rule over" answered Gaz

Dib's mouth opened a little then closed. Eventually he said "Good point"

Miss Bitters growled "Enough talking and get on the bus, unless you want to be vaporized by the next bombing raid"

"That sounds pleasant in comparison to this" remarked Gaz, nodding to Dib who just kept rambling on about Zim and his evil schemes.

The last of the children boarded the bus and the buses departed.

Marceline noticed that Lucas was smiling "Why are you smiling?" she asked.

Lucas just shrugged "I don't know what it is, but I find you humans so amusing"

"Why?" asked Marceline, her eyes narrowed.

Lucas shook his head "Don't know, it might be because you silly creatures slaughter each other for trivial matters and misguided ideals. Or how easy it is to manipulate you. Then again it might be how you all try to avoid meeting me or my father after the reaper comes for you"

"What are you talking about?" asked Marceline in confusion.

Lucas shook his head "Never mind" he nodded over to some bushes near the front of the school "Look".

Marceline turned and she saw a small shape dart out of the bushes and hurry past them. Marceline saw that it was her younger self.

Lucas whistled, "That kid can run" he turned to Marceline and grabbed her hand saying in a singsong voice "Next scene!"

the scene around them blurred and the two reappeared in an abandoned shop.

The inside of the shop was bare and void of items. All that was left were some shelves and a counter where the clerks used to work.

Sitting in a lawn chair by the front door was Marcus with his rifle lying across his lap. Marcus looked different. His hair was much shorter and his skin became extremely pale. Dark circles were prominent under his eyes. His face was gaunt and was devoid of cheer and joy that was usually present.

Marcus's eyes were alert and he looked a little panicked.

The front door opened and Marcus jumped to his feet with his weapon at the ready.

Standing there was the younger Marceline. Marcus sighed a little and he lowered his weapon "Marcy, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," said Marcy.

Marcus frowned "Why?"

"I missed you" said Marcy. She ran over and hugged his leg.

Marcus said nothing. He knelt down and hugged his younger sister.

Tears ran down Marcus's cheeks "I missed you too" he pulled away and looked Marceline in the eyes "You should go, its not safe here. Find dad, go to one of the evacuation points, get out of the city and get to a bunker"

"I can't find dad" said Marcy.

Marcus's features grew dark and he muttered, "So he went through with it"

"Huh?" asked Marcy

"Nothing" said Marcus.

Suddenly there was a crackling sound and a voice spoke "_Corporal Abadeer, this is Captain Riley, respond, over" _

Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small communicator "This is Corporal Abadeer, go ahead"

"_Williams and McPherson missed their scheduled check in. Investigate their last known location in sector alpha three, three six" _said the captain

"Got it" said Marcus and the radio went dead.

Lucas glanced at the real Marceline and saw fear creep into her features.

He grinned maliciously "Ah, I see that you remember this one as well"

"Yes" said Marceline, breathlessly.

Marcus got to his feet "I got to check this out" he picked up his helmet and placed it on his head. He went to the door and stopped.

He turned to his little sister "When I get back, I expect you to be long gone"

"But-" began Marcy but Marcus held up a hand "Please, just go. Promise me that you'll go home".

Marcy promised.

Marcus smiled "Good" he turned and he walked out the door.

The real Marceline began to tremble in fear. She remembered that during the war, enemy nations would drop squads of soldiers during bombing raids to sabotage the war effort and to kill as many enemies as possible. So the government decided to have some reserve units stay in major cities to protect them from any sabotage squads.

Among them was Marcus's unit.

There were a few skirmishes' in several cities where he had been apart of but this one is the one that Marceline always remembered with dread.

* * *

A few minutes after Marcus had left, the younger Marceline snuck out after him.

Lucas and the real Marceline followed. They followed Marcus at a distance down a ruined avenue.

Buildings had large gaping holes in them like bullet wounds; the street was filled with abandoned cars, rubble, glass and charred items.

Discarded wrappers, newspapers and old paper drifted around on the wind like spirits in a graveyard.

Marceline wanted to leave but she couldn't. She had to relive this memory in order to wake up.

Marcus spotted a streak of blood on the pavement that lead into a cramped alley.

Marceline breathed, "Don't go in there"

"Too late" whispered Lucas, who looked like he was enjoying himself.

Marcus leveled his weapon and he stepped into the alley. Marceline wanted to do something to help Marcus but it was futile.

She had to relive this horrible moment all over again.

Lucas walked over to an abandoned SUV and he sat on the hood of the car. He snapped his fingers and a bag of popcorn appeared in his hands. Lucas snapped his fingers again and the popcorn became coated with melted butter and salt in the blink of an eye.

Lucas shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth. Marceline looked at the man in disbelief. Lucas offered the bag to Marceline "Want some?"

The vampire declined.

How is he doing all that and why is he acting like he was about to watch an entertaining spectacle?

Suddenly a gunshot shattered the silence.

Marceline turned and saw running out of the alley was Marcus. He raised his weapon and fired a steady stream of bullets into the alley.

The bullets bounced off of a large dark shape. The dark shape burst through the opening of the alley, destroying the two buildings that formed the mouth of the alley. Marceline's eyes widened in shock and a familiar sensation of fear spread through her.

Towering over Marcus was a massive, metal robot. The robot was a deep red color. It had no arms, only legs.

A loud speaker came to life and an eerily familiar voice spoke "_Puny human! You think that your weapon can harm my new and improved Megadoomer?" _

"Can't blame a guy for trying" said Marcus as he jammed a fresh clip into his weapon.

He reached for his communicator and tried to call for back up but the only reply he got was static.

The voice in the Megadoomer chortled "_Ha, ha, ha! Don't bother, I have jammed all communications, nobody can help you now!"_

Marcus sighed and he returned to shooting the Megadoomer.

The Megadoomer began to stomp towards Marcus. Marcus slowly backed away. His eyes darted around the robot's body trying to find a weakness.

Marceline watched helplessly as the Megadoomer tried to stomp on Marcus, as if he were an insect. Marcus threw himself out of the way at each attempt, firing a few shots at random angles in a vain attempt at killing the robot.

Lucas, meanwhile, was munching on popcorn and watched with interest.

The voice in the Megadoomer grunted, "_Stay…Still!"_

"Never!" said Marcus.

After several minutes of continous stomping, the Megadoomer came to a halt and the pilot was grumbling something over the loudspeaker.

Suddenly the belly of the massive machine opened and a small green figure, clad in light red, dropped out and fell on his face. The miniature figure jumped to his feet and he began brushing himself off.

Once he finished, the stranger extended a hand "I decided that you are a worthy adversary and I hereby surrender to you"

"Uh oh, that's not good" said Lucas, looking anxious.

The redhead covered his eyes with one hand "I can't watch, the suspense is killing me" two of his fingers parted enough to allow one eye to see.

Marceline ignored the man and remained focused on the scene.

Marcus studied the short stranger saying "Really? That was kinda easy, just a moment ago you had me on the ropes, now you're surrendering to me?"

"Yes, yes" said the green stranger "Now shake my hand!"

Marcus's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He knew that something was wrong but he was too tired to think clearly. He extended his hand and took the strangers hand and shook it.

What happened next was burned into Marceline's memory forever.

The short green alien began to laugh and Marcus began to frown in confusion.

Suddenly a wave of blue electrical energy washed over Marcus's body. Marcus let out a scream of pain and he crumpled to the ground.

The little alien nudged Marcus's arm with his foot then he declared loudly "Victory for Zim!"

Marceline's eyes widened "Zim?"

"In the flesh" said Lucas, stuffing another handful of popcorn into his mouth, he nodded at the diminutive alien "All four feet of him".

Zim spun around and barked "Gir! Get down here and prepare the subject for transport!"

A small, silver robot dropped out of the opening and landed on its head. The robot scrambled to its feet and saluted "Yes sir!" the small robot ran over to Marcus and slapped a small, purple computer chip on the back of his neck.

Marcus groaned a little but he didn't awake.

Zim pressed a button on his wrist computer and a par of metal coils slithered out of the Megadoomer and they slowly wrapped themselves around the unconscious Marcus.

Once he was completely wrapped up in the coils, Zim pressed another button.

The coils lifted Marcus off the ground and they slowly hoisted him up into the massive war machine.

Zim rubbed his hands together like a mad scientist "Excellent, with this new test subject, my latest plan for the ultimate warrior will be realized"

"No!" cried a voice. Marceline recognized it and she saw her younger self emerge from her hiding place.

The little girl sprinted over and she kicked Zim in the stomach. Zim yelped and groaned "Ow! My squeedily spooch!" he sank to his knees.

Zim glanced to Gir "Attack!"

Gir's eyes turned red and he leapt into action. He jumped in-between Zim and Marcy.

The tiny robot shifted into a fighting stance but his eyes turned blue and he began dancing and skipping around the two screaming "Doody, doody, doody, doo!"

The little girl frowned in confusion while Zim scowled at the tiny robot and groaned in annoyance.

Zim rose to his feet and he glared at Marcy "What do you want little girl?"

"Give me back my brother!" demanded Marcy.

Zim scowled "No! I need him for my experiments"

"Well he's my brother and I want him back!" said Marcy.

Zim stepped forward and jabbed a finger at the girl "Look here you little brat, I-" but suddenly he was cut off by the screams of sirens. The sirens echoed all around them and in the distance the two could hear the rumble of aircraft engines.

Zim's eyes widened "Oh no"

"The bombers" breathed Marcy.

Zim spun around and he grabbed Gir. With that he made a beeline for the Megadoomer.

Marcy hurried after him; she wasn't going to let him take her brother away.

Zim pressed a button on his wrist computer and he began to rise from the ground. Marcy jumped and grabbed hold on Zim's leg, causing him to descend a little.

Zim glanced down and screamed, "Get off!"

"NO!" screamed Marcy "Give me back my brother!"

"Get off of me you stupid child!" grunted Zim, he thrashed about and kicked his leg but Marcy held on for dear life.

Within a minute, the two were sucked up into the Megadoomer.

Marceline turned to Lucas who just nodded "I know, I know" he snapped his fingers and the Megadoomer became translucent.

The two could see Zim and Marcy wrestling each other, with Gir dancing around in the back seat with an unconscious Marcus lying in a messy heap.

The struggle lasted about twenty seconds, in which Zim gained the upper hand and he placed a small purple chip on Marcy's neck.

It was similar to the one that Gir placed on Marcus.

Marcy froze and she twitched for a moment and in an instant she went limp.

Zim shoved her aside and he took control of the Megadoomer "Lets get out of here!" he moved the controls around and the massive robot spun around and it stomped away from the scene.

Once the Megadoomer had vanished, Lucas jumped to his feet and clapped "Bravo! Bravo! Great performance everybody!" the bombers moved into position above Lucas and Marceline.

They unleashed a hailstorm of bombs down on them.

Marceline ducked and Lucas held up a hand saying "Aaaand…End Scene!" before the bombs could hit the ground, Lucas dropped his hand and the memory faded to darkness.

* * *

The scene around them shifted and changed till it settled on the interior of a high-tech laboratory.

Marceline looked around at the lab "This place…"

"Yep, its alien" said Lucas, he leaned against a nearby console "All the way from planet Irk".

Marceline glanced around the laboratory. All around her were pieces of advanced machinery and equipment. On the far side of the lab was a large glass container that rose up out of the floor and connected to the ceiling. The container was filled with purple liquid and it contained a single occupant. Marcus.

Marceline shivered. Marcus floated in the purple liquid, completely still and quite. He still wore his uniform but he was also covered from head to toe in wires.

Placed on his face was an oxygen mask so that he could breathe. Marceline tried to place a hand on the glass but her hand went right through it.

On the other side of the room, the two heard the doors slide open. They turned and saw Zim marching into the room, followed by a floating gurney that carried Marceline.

Zim and the gurney came to a halt by the glass container.

Zim pressed a button on his wrist and a small metal trey descended from the ceiling. On it were several surgical tools and a small, maroon chip.

Zim smirked "What do you think of my lair little girl?"

"Its ok, I guess" said Marcy.

Zim's smirk changed into a scowl "Well enjoy it while you can". He began typing a series of codes into his wrist computer.

Marcy swallowed "What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm letting you go" answered Zim.

Marcy blinked "Really?"

"Yes", said Zim.

Marcy nodded to Marcus in the glass container "What about my brother?"

"He's mine now" said Zim "You're going home alone"

"No" said Marcy, she shook her head "I won't leave him"

"Too bad" sneered Zim "You're going home and this time, you won't even remember that you even had a brother" Zim let a menacing cackle, Marcy's eyes widened in fear.

Zim pressed a button and a large canister attached to an oxygen mask descended from the ceiling.

Zim twisted some knobs on the canister saying "Take one last look at your brother little girl, for this is the last time you will ever see him"

"No!" cried Marcy.

She struggled against the restraints but it was useless.

Zim placed the oxygen mask over the girl's face and within a minute, Marcy drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The scene dissolved and Marceline and Lucas were again in a barren street.

This time it was night. Thick grey clouds blanketed the sky. It was several hours after the bombing raid and the two saw that the city was now in an even worse shape.

A large section of the city was reduced to rubble and ash.

All across the darkness, they could see the faint orange glows of fires. Cold rain began to pelt the earth and doused some the fires that burned through the ruined city.

Marceline remembered this street. She remembered that she awoke with no memory of how she got there.

She was lost and confused. The vampire remembered wandering around the ruined city for a few days, trying to find other people but it the city was deserted.

A week later she eventually ran into somebody. A kind antiquarian named Simon Petrikov.

Lucas nudged Marceline's arm, "Watch, this is my favorite part"

Marceline followed Lucas's gaze and she spotted Zim and Gir emerging from an alley carrying a burlap bag.

The alien glanced around and he muttered, "Here is good"

Zim dropped the bag and he opened it.

Zim and Gir lifted Marcy out of the bag and gently laid her out on the cold, damp street.

Zim turned gathered up the burlap bag and he retreated into the alley.

Gir stared down at the unconscious Marcy and said "Bye, Bye!" he turned and took off after Zim.

Several minutes passed and the little girl slowly awoke.

Marcy sat up and rubbed her head. Her eyes blinked open and she glanced around at her surroundings.

Fear appeared in the girl's face "Hello?" she called out. The only reply came from the falling rain.

Marcy got to her feet "Hello? Anybody?" she turned around and she spotted the distant glow of a fire. The little girl took off running towards the nearby light.

With that, the memory faded and Marceline and Lucas were left alone in a dark abyss.

* * *

They stood in complete blackness for several minutes.

After a few minutes of nothing, Marceline turned to Lucas "Where's the next memory?"

"There isn't any, that was the last", said Lucas, he shoved his hands into his pockets "We're done. We have reached the end of our little journey"

"We are?" asked Marceline

Lucas nodded.

Marceline sighed in relief "Good"

"That wasn't so bad, wasn't it?" asked Lucas, lightly nudging Marceline's arm.

Marceline smiled a little "I guess it wasn't".

Lucas sighed, "Well, I guess this is where we say goodbye" He extended a hand to the vampire queen and she took his hand.

They shook hands briefly and Lucas turned and began to walk away.

Marceline called after him "Wait! Where do I go? I don't see an exit"

"Don't worry, you'll wake up in a moment" said Lucas, without looking back.

He stopped and turned to face Marceline "Oh and before I forget, I have to tell you that-" but the darkness faded and Marceline's eyes flew open.

* * *

Marceline found herself staring up at the familiar face of Bonnibel Bubblegum.

The princess smiled "Oh thank glob, you're awake!"

"Did I miss anything?" asked Marceline, her throat was dry like sand.

The Princess shook her head "Not really" "How long have I been out?" asked Marceline

The Princess's smile faltered "Uh…well, you've been out for three days" "What!" exclaimed Marceline

Suddenly a massive boom rattled the entire room and there were some screaming.

The pink princess darted away and was trying to calm everyone.

Marceline pushed herself up and reality began to sink in. Her arms and legs felt stiff and sore.

The vampire's eyes drank in the scene around her. She saw that she was in a hospital in the Candy Kingdom.

The entire ward was filled to capacity with candy people, doctors and banana guards. There were candy people in the hospital beds, being treated by doctors and banana guards rushed back and forth carrying equipment and supplies.

The vampire's eyes drifted to the window, where she saw large black clouds rise from the city below.

Ignoring the stiff pain in her legs, Marceline forced herself out of bed and she went to the window.

Down below, a large chunk of the outer wall was gone and hundreds of shapes were flooding in like a swarm of ants.

In the sunlight, their armor glinted.

Marceline shielded her eyes. She turned to another part of the city where she saw flashes of purple and heard screams.

Marceline breathed, "What the heck is going on?"

"War" said a familiar voice.

Marceline turned and saw Lucas sitting on a small, wooden chair beside her bed, reading a book titled "_War & Peace". _

He slammed the book shut and he looked up at the teenage vampire "I told you, you could've stayed and enjoyed a rerun of the golden days"

"What are you doing here?" asked Marceline

"I just want to impart a bit of wisdom to you before I resume my holiday" answered Lucas.

He shoved the book into his suit pocket and rose to his feet. Lucas approached Marceline, his expensive black shoes clacked against the floor of the hospital.

Marceline gulped "What's that?"

Lucas's eyes gleamed, he leaned in close and he said softly "When the time comes, swing hard, don't hesitate and don't miss"

Marceline frowned "What dose that mean?"

Lucas smiled, he backed away and he straightened his tie "Oh you'll know when the time comes".

He glanced at his watch "Oh look at the time, I really must go" he snapped his fingers, a fedora and a pair of dark sunglasses appeared on his head and face "I got a supernova to catch. But don't worry" he winked "I'm rooting for you. See ya!"

Before Marceline could speak, Lucas erupted into a column of dark orange flames.

Marceline shielded her eyes and she could've sworn that she heard wings flapping.

When the light of the fire died down, she saw that Lucas was gone.

She glanced around to see if anyone saw that but no one seemed to have noticed. Marceline saw Bonnible walk by.

The vampire rushed after her and asked, "Bonnie, what the heck going on!"

Princess Bubblegum sighed, "I'm not sure but right now we're under attack"

"By who?" asked Marceline

Princess Bubblegum shrugged "I don't know, they just appeared out of nowhere and attacked the city, we're trying our best to hold them back but we're losing ground".

They heard the doors open and two figures walked in.

The first was Jake and the other, Marceline didn't recognize.

Princess Bubblegum and Marceline approached Jake "Jake, how goes the battle?" asked Princess Bubblegum.

Jake sighed "Not good, those metal soldiers are really tough, we lost two streets and three squads already. If only we had Finn with us"

"I'm not sure if I can be of much help right now" said the newcomer, sounding weary.

Judging from the voice, the newcomer was female. She was dressed in a weird, purple military uniform. She had a strange pack on her back. She had green skin and purple eyes, with a large scar on her face.

Marceline eyed the stranger suspiciously "Who are you?"

"I am General Tak" said the stranger, saluting Marceline "Commander of the armies of the Irken empire"

"You're from Zim's planet, are you?" asked Marceline.

General Tak winced "I am but I represent the authority of my people, Zim on the other hand is a wanted criminal".

A loud boom shook the hospital and everyone flinched.

Marceline's eyes narrowed "Ok, can somebody explain to me what the heck is going around here?"

Princess Bubblegum smiled "Gladly"

"This is going to take forever" muttered Tak.

End of chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: well what do you think? sorry if its not very good. anyway, review!)**


	12. Act 12: Desperate Measures

**(a/n: Here you go. Enjoy and Review please!)**

* * *

Act 12: Desperate Measures

Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, Tak and Jake pushed through the crowded halls of the palace, trying to find somewhere quite to talk in private.

As they pressed through the halls, Marceline mulled over what she was told.

Princess Bubblegum explained that she was found unconscious on a balcony and she was unconscious for days.

During those days, Finn went missing and nobody was able to find him.

But during that time, rumors of a mysterious tower have reached the Candy Kingdom.

Princess Bubblegum explained that the tower seemingly appeared overnight and nobody has been able to get anywhere near it.

A day later, Tak arrived in the Candy Kingdom. Tak explained that she was an alien; an Irken to be precise and she had come to Ooo to arrest Zim, who was also an alien, for crimes he committed against his own people.

Marceline told Princess Bubblegum that she knew and the vampire explained everything that had happened in her memories, even the part of Marcus being her brother.

Princess Bubblegum and Jake gasped at the revelation.

After the shock wore off, Princess Bubblegum explained that she, Tak, Jake and some soldiers were about to confront Zim but they found themselves under siege by a mysterious army of robots.

They appeared in the night and surrounded the Candy Kingdom, trapping everyone inside its walls.

For hours, Princess Bubblegum, Jake, Tak and anyone who was capable of fighting staved off the invaders.

Marceline asked about the Gumball Guardians. The princess sighed and explained that the invading army somehow disabled them, rendering them useless.

At the end of the explanations, Tak suggested that they plan a strategy to repel the invaders and to capture Zim before the robots overwhelm their defenses.

Princess Bubblegum lead them up some stairs and she opened a door "In here" she motioned for her companions to enter the room.

Marceline, Tak and Jake entered the room and Princess Bubblegum, making sure that they were alone, closed the door behind her.

Marceline glanced around and saw that they were in Princess Bubblegum's lab.

Marceline crossed her arms and said aloud "Ok, now what?"

"We go after Zim" said Princess Bubblegum. The princess walked over to her table and she rummaged through the drawers, sifting paper around muttering something under her breath.

Marceline frowned "I thought we're trapped here, surrounded by killer robots?"

"We are" said Princess Bubblegum "But I believe that we can get past that robot army unharmed and unseen"

"How?" asked Marceline.

Princess Bubblegum didn't answer. Instead she scooped up a rolled up piece of parchment and said, "Here we are". She unfurled it and smoothed it out on the table.

Tak, Marceline and Jake went to the desk and they saw a map etched on the parchment "A map?" said Marceline.

Princess Bubblegum nodded "Yes, but its not just any map. It's a map to some tunnels that lead out of the Candy Kingdom". The princess pointed to one section of the map "The closest entrance is there, somewhere beneath the library-" suddenly there was a loud boom and the entire lab quake, which caused everyone to wobble and fall.

Once the quaking stopped, Marceline got to her feet saying "That sounded close"

"We don't have much time" said Tak, she glanced up from her wrist "The outer garrison has fallen and the enemy has taken two more streets".

Princess Bubblegum nodded in understanding. She rolled up the map and she went to the door "We must hurry".

* * *

The four sprinted through the halls and down a long, winding stairway that led down, near the basement.

They reached a pair of large oak doors. Princess Bubblegum withdrew a small gold key from her pocket and she unlocked the doors.

Once the four went inside, they were met by darkness.

Even though it was dark, Marceline could see through the dark as if the room was lit. The inside of the library was huge. It was vast and it was filled with bookcases and shelves that were packed with dusty old books.

To the far side of the room, Marceline could just see that there was a large stone fireplace.

In front of the fireplace were large cushy armchairs, an old rug and stacks of books.

Marceline turned her head and she saw that the room stretched farther than she could see.

From what she could see, the library was big enough to fit everyone in the Candy Kingdom inside it and then some.

"How big is this library?" asked Marceline who was in awe at the size of the library.

Princess Bubblegum shrugged "I don't know, it's pretty big. It's one of the biggest libraries in all of Ooo" Marceline could hear the distant rumble of explosions and muffled voices of the panicked candy people, moving about the palace.

Marceline heard a match being struck and a small ball of orange light filling the dark. Marceline saw Princess Bubblegum light a candle that she found lying on a nearby table.

She handed a candle to Jake and Marceline and lit theirs saying "We have to find the entrance of the passage before its too late"

"Right, where do we start?" asked Tak.

Princess Bubblegum pointed to one side of the library "Tak, you search over there" she pointed over to another side "Jake you take that side" she pointed to another section of the library "Marceline and I will look over there".

Everyone understood and they split up and began searching their designated area of the library.

Tak sifted through the bookshelves trying to find a secret trigger to open a hidden doorway. Jake was sniffing around the floor, trying to find a scent that may not belong.

Princess Bubblegum was studying the map in her hand and tried to line the map up to the room.

Marceline glided through the dark library, searching for a clue to the hidden entrance. But after several minutes, they found nothing.

Marceline landed on her feet muttering, "Where are you?"

"Lost something?" asked a familiar voice.

Marceline spun around and she saw leaning up against a bookcase was Lucas.

He was still wearing his expensive suit and fedora. Clenched between his lips was a large cigar. Lucas snapped his fingers and a small orange flame appeared on his fingertip and he lit his cigar.

Lucas took a long drag and he sighed, expelling a large puff of grey smoke "Oh that's good" he sighed blissfully.

The redhead plucked the cigar out of his mouth saying "They just don't make 'em like they used to"

"Lucas?!" exclaimed Marceline.

Lucas held up his hands and shushed her. Marceline froze and she said in a softer tone "Lucas?"

"Yeah, I'm here" said Lucas. He tapped his cigar, knocking loose ashes to the floor and he returned to his cigar to his mouth.

The redhead studied the vampire's surprise expression "Surprised?"

the vampire nodded.

Lucas grinned "Good" "What are you doing here?" asked Marceline.

Lucas sighed and he reached into his suit jacket "I was six million light years away from here when I remembered that I forgot to give you something that could help you" his hand withdrew from his jacket holding an ancient looking pamphlet and handed it to Marceline.

Marceline frowned and she accepted the pamphlet. The vampire studied the pamphlet then her eyes widened "No"

Lucas smiled "Ah, I see that you remember him"

"no, I can't use this" said Marceline.

Lucas shoved his hands in his pockets "Well I don't need it, I mean what would I with him? In this situation, your in desperate need of a miracle"

"But-" began Marceline but suddenly there was a loud crack and a flash of orange light.

Appearing beside Lucas was a short man with jet-black hair that was slicked back. He wore a black leather jacket, dark sunglasses, jeans and boots.

The man grunted "Come on man, we're going to miss the show!"

"I'm coming Abby" said Lucas.

The man snarled and Marceline noticed the man's eyes glow orange "Don't call me that!" he snarled.

Lucas shot the man a cold look that made the man shrink back in fear.

Lucas's expression softened a little and he said, "Well what do you want me to call you?" "Don" mumbled the man.

Lucas sighed "Fine" he waved Don away "Go, I'll be there in a minute and tell Lily not to eat my popcorn"

"Ok" said Don. The man vanished in a puff of black smoke that smelled like oil and gunpowder.

Lucas turned to Marceline and he muttered to himself "Now, did I forget anything?" he snapped his fingers "Of course!" the red head reached into his jacket again and he pulled out Marceline's ax bass.

Marceline's eyes widened in shock "How did you do that?"

"I can do anything I want, remember?" said Lucas.

He tossed Marceline her bass and he said "See you around kid" Lucas took a few steps back and he was engulfed in crimson fire.

Once the fire had died down, Lucas was gone once more. Marceline stood there holding her ax and the dusty old pamphlet, looking utterly confused.

Marceline snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Princess Bubblegum call "Marceline! Marceline!"

the vampire shoved the pamphlet into her pocket and she quickly glided towards Princess Bubblegum's voice. Marceline found Princess Bubblegum, Jake and Tak gathered around the stone fireplace at the far side of the library.

Marceline asked, "What's up?"

"I believe we have found the tunnel" said Princess Bubblegum.

Jake noticed that Marceline was carrying her ax "Where did you get that?"

Marceline shrugged "You wouldn't believe me if I told you". Before Jake could ask, the roof above their heads rumbled and quaked.

There were some muffled screams and thuds. Suddenly the door to the library opened, revealing Peppermint Butler.

Peppermint Butler's face was covered in soot and his suit was covered in dust and debris

"Your highness, I'm afraid that our defenses have fallen" said Peppermint Butler calmly "The enemy is advancing on the castle as we speak".

Tak scowled "That doesn't give us much time" "Ok, so where's the entrance?" asked Marceline.

Princess Bubblegum pointed to the floor in front of the fireplace "Somewhere over here"

"I suggest that you hurry," said Peppermint Butler who was barricading the door with furniture, books and bookcases.

Jake, Tak, Marceline and Princess Bubblegum went to the fireplace and began to search every inch of it for the secret entrance to the catacombs but they found nothing.

Just as all seemed hopeless, they heard a loud thud coming from beneath the floor.

Everyone paused and listened for the sound. There was another thud and this time, they all saw one of the large stone blocks raise a little.

Jake whispered, "There's someone under there"

"Could it be the enemy?" asked Tak but Princess Bubblegum shrugged.

The four of them heard another thud and this time the large stone block shot up out of its place and landed a few inches away from its original spot.

Marceline and the others readied themselves in case it was an invader, but they all relaxed when they saw a familiar face climb out of the large hole

"Billy!" exclaimed Jake "Boy are we glad to see you"

"Hey guys" said Billy, waving his hand a little. The legendary hero climbed out of the hole and asked, "What's going on?"

"We're under attack, Finn's missing and we're going to confront the one responsible for all of this, all by ourselves" said Marceline, sardonically.

Billy's eyes widened in surprise "Wow"

There was a loud boom and more muffled screams.

Peppermint Butler glanced up at the ceiling saying, "They are getting closer" he looked to Princess Bubblegum and said "If you intend to stop Zim, I suggest that you leave now!"

Princess Bubblegum nodded.

Billy stepped aside and he motioned them into the tunnel's entrance "Hurry, into the tunnel!"

Jake dived in first, Tak followed, then Princess Bubblegum and Billy. Marceline went to the tunnel and she stopped.

She heard sounds of a struggle outside, followed by a familiar voice screaming over the sounds of the battle "Check over there!"

"Marcus" breathed Marceline.

Peppermint Butler turned to the vampire "Go, I'll cover your escape"

Marceline wanted to go but part of her wanted to stay and fight. But she dived into the tunnel.

Once she was in the tunnel, Peppermint Butler hid the stone block and he placed a wooden board over the tunnel's entrance and covered it with the carpet.

Peppermint Butler sighed and muttered "Good Luck"

* * *

Marceline landed on her feet in the cramped tunnel.

Tak and Princess Bubblegum were there waiting for her "Ok, lets go" whispered Tak but Marceline held up a hand "Wait"

"What, why?" asked Tak.

Marceline didn't answer, she put her finger to her lip and she floated back up till she was only a few inches beneath the tunnel's entrance.

The vampire carefully floated up to the wooden board and lifted it up a little, just enough so she could see what was happening in the library.

She saw Peppermint Butler tidy up the library a little and suddenly an explosion tore the barricade apart, allowing for the enemy to pour into the library.

Marceline's heart almost stopped at what she saw. The enemies were indeed robots but they looked entirely alien and terrifying.

They were made of mustard colored metal. They had eight long legs, two arms that had claw like hands. Their upper bodies resembled humans. Armor plating and metal coils covered every inch of their bodies.

Their heads and faces were angular.

For mouth's they had spider like pincers.

The arachnid robots skittered all over the room, crawling up walls and up the ceiling.

After a minute, one dropped down from the ceiling and said in a electronic voice "All clear".

Marceline heard footsteps and emerging from the ruined doorway was Marcus.

He wore a long black coat with a wide brimmed hat and a black cloth covered most of his face. His coat was covered in spatters of red jelly and white glittering sugar that belonged to some unfortunate candy person that crossed his path.

But what caught Marceline's eye was his cybernetic eye. The electronic eye whirred and scanned the room.

His eyes landed on Peppermint Butler who stood there looking completely calm. Marcus marched over to the butler and grabbed him by his lapels, growling in a deep electronic voice that made Marceline shiver "Where are they?"

"Who?" asked Peppermint Butler.

Marcus snarled "Don't play games with me, I'm not in the mood. Where are the Princess, the vampire and the dog?"

Peppermint Butler shrugged "I'm not sure, even if I did, I would never tell you"

Marcus tightened his grip but suddenly he began to laugh. Marcus's laugh was a dry, humorless, and slightly crazed. The arachnids all looked to each other nervously and they joined in with the laughter with laughter of their own.

Peppermint Butler frowned in confusion "What, may I ask, is so funny?"

"Oh nothing" said Marcus, wiping a tear away from his human eye "It's just that we're going to extract those answers from that sugary little noggin of yours in a very painful manner" Marcus leaned in close and whispered "And I'm going to enjoy ever moment of it".

Marcus tossed Peppermint Butler to one of the arachnid's saying "Take him to The Box, maybe it can loosen his tongue".

The arachnids nodded and they cleared out of the room, carrying Peppermint Butler out of sight.

Marceline decided that she has seen enough. She dropped down and she said to Tak and Princess Bubblegum "Lets go".

Marceline, Tak and Princess Bubblegum began making their way deeper into the tunnel that lead away from the Candy Kingdom.

* * *

Meanwhile on the surface, the army of arachnid robots herded the candy people like cattle into large pens that were set up in separate sections of the city.

Gir was helping some of the arachnid robots clean up the city, by eating the rubble. The rubble happened to be ginger bread and other forms of baked treats.

A large portion of the outer walls that protected the city was decimated along with several neighborhoods.

Marcus stood atop a massive mound of rubble where an ornate fountain once stood.

His cybernetic eye scanned the herds of candy people but he didn't find the princess, Marceline or Jake.

The cyborg growled, "Where are you?" suddenly the communicator in his brain began to beep.

Marcus sighed in annoyance and he answered "What?"

"Status report, Gravemaker" said Zim.

Marcus looked around at the conquered candy city saying, "As you can see, the army that the tower generated worked like a charm. We are now in charge of the Candy Kingdom"

"Excellent" said Zim.

Marcus nodded "Yes but there's just one little problem"

"What? A problem?" said Zim, "What is it?"

"Marceline, Bubblegum and Jake escaped" said Marcus.

"What! How could you let them escape!" screamed Zim.

Marcus growled "It was unavoidable, besides we have the princess's butler in custody and we're using your box on him, so we should know where they are within the hour"

"You better, or else I will deactivate you" threatened Zim "Got it?".

Marcus clenched his fist and growled "Yes sir"

"Good, now keep up the search and report back to the tower in an hour" said Zim "Soon we will activate the final stage and this world will be no more!"

"Roger that" said Marcus and he switched off his communicator, muttering "Sweet silence at last".

* * *

Marceline, Bubblegum and Tak reached the end of the tunnel after a few hours of stumbling and crawling.

Tak crawled up and she helped Princess Bubblegum climb out.

Marceline floated out of the tunnel and she glanced around at where the tunnel had led them. Marceline saw that the tunnel's exit deposited them in the middle of a strange meadow. All around them were dozens of old grey stone slabs that stood three feet tall and were a few inches wide.

In the distance there was a large stone that stood taller than everyone in the group. Surrounding the meadow were a thick forest of trees.

The ground beneath their feet was covered in daisies Marceline frowned and scowled at their surroundings. Something about it was familiar.

Jake and Billy emerged from the trees "Where were you guys?" asked Jake.

Tak jerked a thumb at Marceline "She held us up"

"I just wanted to be sure of something" said Marceline.

Tak shrugged "Whatever"

Tak scowled at Jake and Billy "Where were you?"

"Scouting the area" answered Billy "Making sure we weren't followed".

Princess Bubblegum studied the stone slabs that populated the meadow "Where are we?"

"Don't know" said Billy, shrugging.

Jake approached one of the slabs. He squinted and he sniffed the slab "Smells, old" the dog scratched his head "It smells…weird".

Suddenly Marceline heard a faint voice whisper "_Marceline…Marceline"_. The vampire spun around, searching for the source of the voice till she was facing north and she took off like a shot.

She soared through the thick forest of trees. Dozens of other stone slabs passed beneath her. Marceline followed the voice.

As she approached the source, it grew louder and louder then finally it stopped.

Marceline stopped and looked around her. All she saw were more woods and a few stone pillars.

She heard the voice whisper, only this time she was able to lock on to where it was coming from.

The vampire glided over to one of the pillars and she landed in front of one of the larger ones. It stood several feet tall and it showed signs that it was once a sculpture but years of weathering and decay changed it into a pillar of misshapen stone.

Its base was covered in grass and flowers. Marceline pushed the flowers and grass aside and she muttered under her breath "What the?"

Inscribed in the base of the pillar was the name of Marceline's mother.

The vampire backed away and she glanced around her. She saw a few other stone pillars, some still standing, some were knocked down and shattered.

Princess Bubblegum and Tak emerged from the trees "Marceline, what the cabbage are you doing?" asked the princess "You can't just take off like that, its dangerous"

"I…I know what this place is" said Marceline. The princess and the alien shared questioning looks then asked, "What is this place?"

"This is a graveyard" answered Marceline, grimly.

* * *

Miles away, Zim stepped out of the elevator and marched into the control room with his head held high.

The control room was a round room that had a wide window that gave a panoramic view of the land around him.

Computer consoles lined the walls, controlling every aspect of the tower. Zim marched over to one of control consoles and he began prepping for the final phase.

As Zim was typing away on the consoles, the tower's communicator beeped.

Zim smiled and he hit the answer button "Malice, what's your status?"

"Status green" said the blond assassin

Zim's smile widened "Excellent"

"What do we do now?" asked Malice "Marcus and Gir are getting a little twitchy"

"I want you to order the evacuation" ordered Zim.

Malice paused then asked "What about the prisoners?"

"Leave them" said Zim, waving a hand "They're part of the test".

Malice went silent then said hesitantly, "Ok, I'll give the order"

"Good and return to the tower immediately for the launch of the Eclipse Blast" said Zim "Zim out".

Zim switched off the communicator and he continued working on his ultimate weapon.

* * *

Hours passed, the sun had sunken beyond the horizon and the sky be came black as ink.

Marceline, Tak, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Billy sat around a small campfire, a short distance away from the graveyard.

For the past several hours, Princess Bubblegum and Tak have been trying to devise a plan on how to assault Zim's tower but so far everything they came up with was a dud.

After a while, Tak and the princess decided to take a break.

Everyone sat in gloomy silence.

Princess Bubblegum sighed and rested her chin in the palms of her hands "It's hopeless, everything I can think of is useless against that tower"

"I hate to say it but your right" grumbled Tak "that tower is one of the most advanced pieces of technology in the galaxy, nothing can get in, unless Zim wills it"

"Don't you have some sort of alien gadget that could get us in there?" asked Jake.

Tak shook her head "Nope, even if I did, there's still the matter of avoiding internal security"

"Oh, right" sighed Jake.

Jake looked into the fire and mumbled, "I wish Finn was here, he'd know what to do".

Marceline nodded in agreement but suddenly her eyes widened.

Lucas's words echoed in her head "_I__n this situation, your in desperate need of a miracle"._

Marceline jumped to her feet and exclaimed, "Wait! That's it!"

Everyone looked to her "What is?" asked Jake.

Marceline didn't answer.

Instead, she glided towards the graveyard saying "Come on, I got an idea" .

Everyone looked at each other in confusion and they decided to follow her. Once they reached the main section of the graveyard where the tunnel entrance was, Marceline stopped and she pulled out the ancient pamphlet from her pocket.

The vampire flipped through the pages then she read a section on the page. She glanced up at the starry night sky and she mumbled, "I hope this is the right thing".

Marceline shoved the pamphlet back into her pocket and she turned to the others "You might want to take a few steps back".

Everyone obeyed, and Marceline looked up at the sky saying "It's beginning"

"What is?" asked Jake

"Watch" said Marceline.

The clear sky became cloudy and thunder rumbled and jagged streaks of lightning flashed across the sky. The ground in the heart of the graveyard quaked and rumbled like thunder.

The black clouds began to converge together and they began to swirl over the graveyard.

A loud crack pierced the evening air and the earth split open. More cracks filled the air and more openings formed in the earth in the graveyard.

From an aerial perspective, the openings formed a wicked smiling face.

An emerald light began to glow from the earth then the smiling face disintegrated, revealing a swirling green vortex that laid buried in the earth.

High pitched screeches filled the air and thousands of black bats flew out of the vortex and they took to the skies. The wind howled and more thunder crashed.

Suddenly a massive black shape shot out of the green vortex and landed a few feet away from the opening in the earth.

Once the figure had landed, the wind began to die down, the thunder stopped, the clouds dissipated and the hole where the vortex was sealed itself up.

Marceline noticed the figure moving. The figure rose to its feet and it scratched itself.

The vampire approached the figure and saw it for the first time in a thousand years.

Standing there was a massive demon.

He had paper white skin, long black hair, red eyes, pointed ears with earrings. He wore a dirty, old suit and tie.

He wore tight, stretchy pants that hugged his body.

Lastly he wore fuzzy slippers on his feet.

Marceline coughed "Excuse me?" "Hm?" grunted the demon as he turned and faced Marceline.

Marceline asked, "Do you happen to be the one spoken to of in the ancient pamphlet?"

The demon nodded than screamed in a deep booming voice, "Yes! I am Mortos Der Soulstealer!"

Marceline grimaced and said meekly "Yes…you are".

The vampire queen got a bad feeling about this but it was the only way that she and the others could find Finn.

End of Chapter

* * *

**(a/n: well here you go. please review!)**


	13. Act 13: Disenchanted

**(a/n: review and whatever)**

* * *

Act 13: Disenchanted

Finn sighed in boredom and sat back on the park bench.

He sat alone in a quiet, empty memorial park that sat in the heart of the sprawling city of Haven. A few minutes earlier his mother left for work, saying that it was urgent, leaving him alone in the heart of the city with Captain Blake and Zeke watching him from a nearby coffee shop across the road.

Finn thought back on what had happened for the past few days.

* * *

After the grand welcome home party, Finn's cousin Alex showed him to his room.

His new room was bigger than his old room back at his tree house. It had a large bed, high ceiling with dark blue walls. Large windows gave Finn an impressive view of the sprawling urban metropolis that sat at the foot of the hill that his new home was perched on.

Finn spent an hour jumping up and down on his new bed because it was incredibly soft and bouncy.

Eventually Finn went to sleep.

The next morning, Finn's mother ate breakfast with him and Alex.

As they ate breakfast, they were served by a group of servants.

After breakfast, Finn, his mother and Alex went on a tour of the city. Finn took in the sights with complete interest. He was fascinated by average human society.

As they drove through the streets, people bowed or waved.

Finn asked his mother why they bow and she replied that it was a sign of respect.

She went on to explain that her father and a team of hardworking scientists built Haven City during the war in secret.

After months of hard work, their blood, sweat and tears paid off.

They smuggled as many refugees as they could into the secret subterranean city and when the final nuclear strike hit, they survived.

Among the survivors were Finn's mother and uncle, which caused Finn's eyes to widened in surprise. He knew that the war was centuries before he was born but his mother didn't look that old.

When he questioned her at how is she still alive, she shrugged and said "Magic".

They went to an expensive restaurant and got a nice table in an isolated corner where they could eat and talk in private.

As they ate lunch, Finn listened intently to his mother's tale. She explained that after the war, humanity continued on ever since. With most of the old government wiped out in war, the politicians who managed to escape to Haven City came together and formed a governing council that was pretty effective for a while.

But eventually unrest and turbulent times caused the council to dissolve and Finn's grandfather was given control of Haven City.

He ran Haven City like a business, ruthless, efficient and orderly.

Eventually he grew old and died of old age. On his deathbed, he passed control of Haven to Finn's mother, Gaz.

She ruled just as her father wanted, tough but fair.

Finn asked his mother why humanity is still underground now that the surface was safe.

Her expression turned grim and she explained that during the coarse of her rule, the people of Haven did try to resettle on the surface but creatures, like vampires and rainicorns, constantly harassed them.

Even though they suffered losses, they would have suffered even greater losses if it weren't for Gaz's mastery over science and magic.

In the end, the entire city decided that it would be safer to live underground.

Gaz smiled and asked her son about himself.

Finn explained his entire life to his mother and cousin. The two listened with great interest. Alex especially.

When Finn concluded his explanation, His mother nodded in approval saying, "Quite a story, I'm glad that you're alive"

"Me too" added Alex.

Finn asked how he ended up on the surface.

Gaz clenched her fist and she explained that when he was very young, a woman kidnapped him and tried to flee to the surface. Eventually the woman was captured but Finn had vanished. They searched for weeks and found nothing, so everyone assumed that Finn was dead.

Finn asked about the woman. Gaz just waved a hand saying, "She was dealt with".

* * *

The three of them returned home and Gaz left the two cousins to play because she had to work.

Finn wanted to spend more time with his mother so he can get to know her better but Alex told him that she was busy leading the human race.

Finn felt a little disappointed but he also felt proud because his mother was a hard working person, ensuring the survival of the human race.

The remaining time he spent in Haven City was exploring his home, hanging out with his cousin or reading up on his family history.

Finn learned that his grandfather was a brilliant man who was called the smartest man in the world. Professor Membrane was often the leading mind in many fields of science and he was the creator of many inventions, like super toast.

Eventually Finn learned that they buried him in a crypt in the Professor Membrane Memorial park.

Finn and his mother went to the park to see where he was buried.

In the direct center of the silent memorial park was a towering marble statue of Professor Membrane. He looked exactly as he did in his prime. The professor wore his usual lab coat, boots, gloves and goggles. The scientist stood proud and tall, holding aloft a smooth stone globe in his hand.

Gaz placed some flowers at the statue's feet muttering, "I miss you, dad".

A few moments later she left, returning to work.

* * *

Finn sighed and muttered to nobody "I miss Jake".

Suddenly Finn heard some rustling and he felt something pressed against the back of his neck.

Before he could move, a voice growled, "Don't move, don't turn, and don't do anything" "Ok" said Finn.

The voice whispered, "Listen to me Finn, you're in terrible danger, we all are"

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" asked Finn

"We all know your name" hissed the voice "But that's not important, right now I want you to listen to me"

"Ok" said Finn, trying his best not to panic.

The voice coughed and it explained "Your mother is not who she claims to be" "She's not?" said Finn in surprise.

The voice continued, "She is not as good as you would believe, she is pure evil. Right now she is enacting a terrible plan that will destroy us and your friends on the surface"

Finn gasped in shock "What do we do?" "In order for her to carry out her plan, she requires a book, a gem and the blood of three beings" said the voice

"What book? What gem? Whose blood?" asked Finn, feeling a little lost.

The voice sighed, "Look its not important, all you need to worry about is the book. You must retrieve it from her study, without she won't be able to enact her plan. Got it?"

Finn nodded.

The voice hissed, "Good, now get that book and leave the rest to me". With that, the voice went silent and the thing pressed up against Finn's neck left.

Finn quickly spun around but saw nobody.

* * *

The car raced up the streets and quickly approached the house on the hill. After mulling it over, Finn decided to follow the voice.

Something about that voice was familiar and it also sounded like it was telling the truth.

Once the car came to a halt, Finn hopped out of the car and quickly hurried inside.

He raced through the large, empty house and quickly went to his mother's study. The inside of the study was huge.

It had high bookcases with old leather bound volumes and metal blocks that looked like computer hard drives. On the other side of the room was a large oak table. Finn went to the desk and began to search for the book, guessing that his mother would hide an important book in her desk.

After searching through a few drawers, he came to a locked drawer.

Finn fished through his pockets till he found his lock pick. Finn picked the lock and it clicked open.

He opened the drawer and he gasped. Lying in the drawer was the Enchiridion and a smooth round gem.

Finn was shocked. How did his mother get the Enchiridion? He remembered that he gave it to a bear.

Finn scooped up the book and the gem then quickly made a beeline for the door but he heard voices coming from outside the study.

Finn quickly stashed the book and gem back into his backpack.

Quickly, Finn jumped behind a couch and he held his breath.

A moment later, the study's door opened and two people stormed in. The first was Finn's mother and she was dragging Alex in by the ear. She threw him to the ground snarling, "You have defied my explicit orders for the last time! You broke into my lab and tried to take what's not yours. Now, where is my son!"

"Long gone, I hope!" spat Alex.

Finn peaked out from his hiding space and he paled. Long streaks of blood dribbled out of Alex's mouth and down to his chin. He wore a camouflage suit but it was torn in a lot of places.

Gaz was in her usual business attire and she looked absolutely furious.

Alex laughed meekly "What do you think of that Gaz?"

"I think that you have just made your last mistake!" hissed Gaz. Her hand clenched into a fist and it began to glow violet with magic. Before she could strike,

Finn emerged from his hiding place "Mom stop!" Gaz halted and she looked at Finn.

Gaz lowered her hand saying, "Finn, you have to understand, this is for the greater good"

"Beating up Alex, destroying my friends on the surface and all the people here?" said Finn.

Gaz sighed, "You won't understand" "Understand what?" asked Finn.

Alex cut in "You might as well tell him, since none of us will be alive to see it".

Gaz glared at Alex then she sighed, "Fine".

Gaz explained "For the past thousand years or so, I have been trapped here leading these brainless idiots, protecting them and keeping them alive on my own. My dad is dead, my stupid brother left to travel the stars only to die in a horrible collision with a star. Everyone I knew is dead, leaving me to carry the human race onwards all by myself. I am sick of it!"

Gaz clenched her fist "I have had it with being the leader of the stinking human race! I have tried to pass the job on to others but they only screw up and bring man to the edge of oblivion again. I tried to leave but I swore to my dad that I would lead and protect the human race. There was no way out, until finally I found a way to fix everything, that book. The Enchiridion"

"The Enchiridion?" asked Finn "How is it the key to your salvation?"

"Hidden in this book is a portal to a wish granting being" explained Gaz "If I get to this being, I will wish away this wretched existence and replace it with a better one".

Finn frowned "That doesn't sound so bad"

"Trust me Finn, its bad" said Alex who was trying to get to his feet "She intends on altering the past and deleting this entire timeline. If that happens you can kiss the people of Haven City and the people on the surface goodbye!"

Finn's eyes widened in horror "Why would you do that?"

"I am sick of this world" said Gaz who sounded very exhausted "I have lived for far too long, bound to a job I never wanted. I want to be free".

She fished a long, silver dagger from her jacket and began to advance on Finn "Now I need your blood"

"What!" exclaimed Finn as he backed away from his mother.

"You are the final piece to the puzzle Finn, your blood will unlock the doorway to beyond" said Gaz calmly. She lunged and snatched Finn's hand. Gaz made a small cut on his arm and blood dripped out of the wound. Quickly, Gaz pulled out a glass vile and filled up the small bottle with Finn's blood.

Finn drew back and nursed his wound while staring at his mother in shock. He couldn't believe it, his mother was a deranged lunatic who just cut him and took his blood.

Gaz tossed the dagger aside and she pulled out two more bottles of blood "Finally, it's done!" she turned away and she went to the desk.

While she was distracted, Finn helped Alex to his feet "Are you alright?" asked Finn.

Alex winced "Just a few broken ribs and a broken leg but I'm fine thanks".

Gaz glanced over her shoulder "I have no more use for you Alex. You have been a major pain in my neck these past years." She turned her attention back to the Enchiridion "I shouldn't have expected more from my brother's clone"

Finn glanced at Alex and exclaimed "What!"

Suddenly there was a puff of black smoke and a pair of large arms scooped Finn and Alex up.

Gaz spun around and her eyes widened "How did you get in here?"

"I am Mortos!" screamed the intruder.

With Finn and Alex in his arms, Mortos vanished, spiriting the two human boys away.

* * *

Gaz scowled and muttered, "Whatever".

She went to her locked drawer to retrieve the book and the gem.

But what she found was an empty drawer. Gaz slammed the drawer shut and her vision turned red. Something in her snapped and she let a blood curdling scream of fury "Damn it!"

* * *

Once the black smoke cleared, Finn saw that he, Alex and the intruder who grabbed them were in the middle of a forest.

Finn turned and he saw the intruder. He was large. He wore shabby clothing and had long black hair.

Before Finn could react, he was tackled to the ground "Finn!" cried a familiar voice. It was Jake.

Finn smiled "Jake!" he hugged his brother tightly and laughed.

Jake helped Finn onto his feet.

Finn saw Princess Bubblegum, Marceline and a strange green skinned being approach him.

The vampire and the princess hugged the human boy.

Suddenly Mortos coughed "Ahem!" They turned to the towering demon and Marceline said "Thanks Mortos"

Mortos scowled "Next time you shouldn't be so cheap with Mortos".

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, the ground behind Mortos split open revealing a vast green portal.

Mortos jumped backwards and he froze, floating a few feet above the portal. Mortos boomed "See you in a thousand years!" with that, the wish granting demon rocketed into the ink black sky.

Finn frowned and asked, "Who was that?"

"Mortos Der Soulstealer" said Marceline.

Princess Bubblegum grinned, "Its good to have you back Finn"

"Its good to be back" said Finn

"I wouldn't get too comfortable" said the green skinned creature "Your troubles have just begun"

"Oh right" said Princess Bubblegum "You should be brought up to speed". The Princess took a deep breath and explained the events of the past few days to Finn.

End of chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: Well here you go. review and whatever. The story is almost complete.)**


	14. Act 14: Apocalypse Now!

**(a/n: if anyone is reading this, enjoy and please, please review.)**

* * *

Act 14: Apocalypse Now!

Zim, Malice, Marcus and Mini-moose were gathered in the control room of the Apocalypse Tower.

Zim had completed repairs on the tower's main weapon and he called all his minions together to witness it being used for the first time.

Zim made a longwinded speech about being the greatest invader to have ever lived and how he has finally triumphed.

With that, the tiny Irken slammed his fist down on the button that fire's the tower's main weapon.

But nothing happened. Zim frowned "What's going on?" he kicked the console and began running diagnostic checks but everything was running perfectly.

Marcus smirked "Did you plug it in?"

"Yes!", said Zim, who was starting to disassemble the control consol.

Malice noticed some wires hanging from the ceiling "What do those do?" asked the bounty hunter.

Zim looked up and his eyes widened. He coughed nervously and muttered, "They connect the firing mechanism to the power core"

Marcus started to laugh.

Zim scowled at the cyborg "Silence!" Marcus nodded and wiped away some tears that ran down his cheek from his only remaining human eye.

He turned and he looked out the window. Marcus's smile faded instantly. Malice noticed and asked, "What is it?"

"We got company," said Marcus.

Zim, Malice, and Mini-moose went to the window and saw what he saw.

In the distance, they saw a group of seven beings approaching the tower at a fast pace.

Zim squinted and his eyes widened, exclaiming "Its Tak!" "And Finn" added Marcus.

Zim smiled "Nothing to worry about, they won't make it past the front doors".

Malice and Marcus looked at each other than they both looked at Zim "Whose guarding the front door?" asked Malice.

Zim thought for a moment then his eyes widened in horror "Gir!" Malice and Marcus rolled their eyes.

Zim barked at the two, "Get to the front doors and stop them!" the two killers turned and quickly hurried to the ground floor.

* * *

Finn, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Jake, Tak and Billy reached the tower's main entrance with no trouble at all. Finn drew his sword and he told his companions "ok guys, be ready for anything".

Everybody nodded and they readied themselves. Finn took a deep breath and kicked open the door.

The doors swung open with ease and the group hurried inside.

Once inside, the doors swung shut behind them and lights flickered on revealing a large circular room.

In the center of the room was a spiral staircase that led up to the upper levels with another set of stairs that led to the basement. At the foot of the stairs was a tiny silver robot with blue eyes. The robot was playing with a rubber pig, mimicking airplane noises and machine gun sounds.

Finn and the others approached the stairs.

The robot noticed them and he jumped to his feet, his eyes glowed red and an array of high tech weaponry emerging from its head "None may pass!" growled the robot.

Finn hefted his sword and he prepared for the robot to attack. But the attack never came.

Instead the robot stood his ground for several minutes then retracted his weapons and his eyes turned blue.

The robot just skipped away from them giggling and continued to play with the rubber pig.

Marceline cocked an eyebrow "What just happened?" "I think we won" said Finn.

Tak scoffed "Pitiful, Zim was always such an embarrassment to Irken military training with shoddy security measures, a defective SIR unit, not locking the front door, it's just plain pitiful".

Finn turned to the former Irken general and asked "Where to now?"

Tak pointed at the stairs "Head up the stairs to the control room, find the firing mechanism and disable it" she pointed to the stairs that led downward "I'll go that way and once I find the power core, I'll remove it".

Finn nodded "ok" he turned to the others "Lets go!"

Finn bolted up the stairs, followed by Princess Bubblegum, Jake, Billy and Marceline.

* * *

As they ascended the long spiral staircase, Finn thought about Alex and his mother.

Once he and Alex appeared on the surface, Princess Bubblegum had filled him in on the situation. It came as a surprise to him that Zim was an alien and that Marcus was actually Marceline's brother who was supposed to be dead.

He also met Tak, an alien from Zim's home planet where she was a general.

She explained that Zim was a wanted criminal, responsible for heinous crimes against their people.

The Irken general explained that Zim had assembled a doomsday weapon that was capable of destroying all life in Ooo and she asked Finn if he would help her stop Zim.

Finn agreed to help her bringing down Zim and save Ooo from his doomsday weapon.

After assembling their plan of attack, Finn tried to help Alex to his feet but Alex's injuries prevented him from being moved.

Alex lay up against a tree; he weakly smiled and told Finn that he would slow them down. He told Finn to leave him and stop Zim.

Finn respected his wishes and they left him alone.

Finn silently promised that once they defeated Zim, he would go back for Alex and try and help him. He imagined that once Alex's injuries were treated, he could live with Jake and himself.

Finn and his friends passed through a door and entered a large empty room.

Suddenly Finn came to a skidding halt. The others came to an abrupt halt beside him. Standing in front of the only doorway ahead of them were two figures. One dressed in a long blue coat, the other in black.

The one in blue was the blonde woman named Malice and the one in black was Marcus.

Finn and Marceline looked at Marcus in shock. He looked very different. One of his eyes was a cybernetic replacement and parts of his face had shards of metal fused with his grey flesh.

Standing in between the two was Zim. He grinned broadly "Well, well, well what do we have here?"

"Zim" growled Marceline; she gripped her ax tightly.

Finn leveled his weapon to the diminutive invader "Shut down the weapon"

"Or else what?" sneered Zim

"Or we make you" snarled Marceline.

Zim scowled then he snapped his fingers "Gravemaker, command override six, protocol seven-four-three…"

Marcus's eye widened and he looked at Zim in shock "You little bastard! You're not going to do that to me!" Zim looked a little worried and he continued rattling off numbers.

Marcus reached down to strangle the invader but he froze.

Marcus rose and he stood straight and still like a statue. Zim sighed in relief.

Marceline saw Marcus's expression go blank and she demanded, "What did you do to him!" "I overrode his consciousness and locked him into duty mode" said Zim.

Zim's lips spread into a crooked smile "Enjoy your happy reunion, vampire" his form shimmered and he vanished.

Finn's eyes widened "Where did he go?" "Teleportation " said Malice "He went up to the ops center at the top of the tower".

She glanced to Marcus who stood perfectly still "Oh and apparently Zim forgot to give him a command" she looked to Finn "You better get moving before he remembers".

Finn frowned in confusion "Why are you helping us?"

Malice shrugged "I don't know. It could probably be boredom, or the disturbing lack of money in my pocket." The bounty hunter smiled "Mostly I think its because I'm getting a little tired working for that little megalomaniac".

Finn and Jake shared a glance then shrugged. Finn, Jake, Billy and Princess Bubblegum hurried up the stairs.

Marceline stayed behind.

Malice quirked an eyebrow "Why are you still here?"

"He's my brother," said Marceline, nodding to Marcus "I want to try and help him"

Malice shrugged "Knock yourself out kid, he's a different person than you think he is".

Marceline approached her brother and looked him in the eyes "Marcus? Can you hear me?" she asked quietly.

Marcus stood perfectly still. His eyes were vacant with no sign of acknowledgement. A loud crackling interrupted the silence and Zim's voice spoke "Right, I forgot. Gravemaker, attack!"

Marcus's cybernetic eye glowed crimson "Acknowledged" he growled in a deep electronic voice.

He reached into his coat and drew twin revolvers. Malice's eye widened "Uh oh!" he took aim at Marceline and he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Tak hurried down the hall till she reached a set of doors.

She kicked the doors open and she entered a large room containing a large glass container.

Tak studied the glass container carefully. The container stood tall, running from the ceiling to the floor. It was connected to two machines, one on the ceiling and one on the floor.

Floating in the heart of the glass container was a tiny sphere of energy that glowed blue-white.

Tak's eyes widened in horror "No…he can't have been this stupid".

She knew that she couldn't just destroy the power generator or disable it because the power source, the tiny glowing sphere, was volatile and very sensitive.

If she weren't careful, the generator would explode with the force of a supernova or worse.

Tak sighed, "Why is this never easy?"

* * *

Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Billy ascended the stairs till they reached a set of doors.

Princess Bubblegum told the others to stand back. She pulled out a small device and placed it in front of the door.

The princess pressed a button and there was a high-pitched ringing then suddenly the doors crumbled to dust.

Finn and Jake looked at the princess in surprise and inquired how the box worked. Princess Bubble shook her head "Not the right time for a science explanation lets go stop Zim"

Finn nodded "Right".

Finn, Jake, Princess Bubblegum and Billy entered a large circular control room filled with screens, control consoles and large windows with a wide panoramic view of Ooo.

Finn scanned the control room and to his surprise, saw no one. Zim wasn't there. Finn lowered his weapon and scratched his head "I don't get it, where's Zim?"

Jake shrugged "Maybe he escaped".

Suddenly large glass tubes dropped down from the ceiling and trapped Finn, Jake, Billy and Princess Bubblegum.

Finn tried to break out of his glass prison but his sword didn't even scratch the smooth surface.

A loud, triumphant laugh filled their ears and Zim slid down one of the glass tubes till he landed on the floor.

Zim pointed and laughed at Finn "Ha, ha, ha! Puny human! You think you can beat me?"

Finn nodded "Yeah".

Zim blinked and continued "W-well too bad, you failed. After I deal with you, I'll take care of Tak and I will have the Gravemaker kill Marceline"

Finn slammed his fist against the glass "Let me out of here!"

Zim jumped back a little and a look of worry crossed his face.

Zim regained composer and he went to one of the control consoles "Too bad that none of you will be alive to see the final outcome of my brilliant schemes"

"What are you going to do to us?" asked Princess Bubblegum.

Zim grinned wickedly "First I'm going to put you three in the brig, then I will get rid of the last human in the entire universe!"

Princess Bubblegum's eyes widened "NO!" Zim pressed a button on the console. Billy, Jake and Princess Bubblegum all glowed bright purple than vanished.

Zim turned to Finn "now, its your turn" Zim pressed another button. Everything around Finn turned bright and in a flash of purple light, the control room, Zim and the glass prison he was in vanished.

* * *

Finn blinked and he saw that he was outside of the tower. He stood alone in the grassland, looking around in confusion.

Finn frowned, what was Zim's plan and Why would Zim teleport him to the grasslands?

Suddenly Zim's voice boomed over a loudspeaker, "_Now than Finn, you shall be the first to experience the Apocalypse tower's main weapon, The Eclipse Blast!"_

Finn spun around and saw that he was a few hundred yards away from the tower.

The human boy paled when he saw a pair of iron prongs rise on the top of the tower. Large bolts of blue crackling energy crackled along the surface of the iron prongs than they ran between the two. The energy slowly began to form a massive sphere. The sphere grew bigger and bigger till finally, a massive beam of blue energy erupted from the sphere and raced towards Finn.

Finn was paralyzed. His mind screamed at his legs to move but he was frozen in place. The only thing Finn did was close his eyes and brace himself for pain.

The air around him began to grow hot and intense, the hair on the back of his neck stood. Finn felt uncomfortably warm but he didn't feel any pain.

Slowly, Finn opened his eyes and he gasped at what he saw.

Standing between him and certain death was his mother. Gaz was holding back the deadly blue energy beam with her bare hands.

The energy beam collided with her hands, splitting into two and rebounding into several different directions. Finn noticed that the energy was scorching whatever it landed on.

Finn exclaimed "Mom!"

She glanced back at Finn "What?" "How are you doing that?" asked Finn in amazement.

Gaz shrugged "Magic". Her knees wobbled a little and she slid back a few inches, Gaz growled "Not now, don't you dare fail me now".

The energy beam flickered and finally died. Gaz wobbled a little and she fell to her knees.

Finn rushed to his mother's side "Mom!" he saw that blood was oozing out of her mouth. She steadied herself by placing a hand on her son's shoulder "I'm never doing that again".

Finn asked his mother why she was there. Gaz smiled a little and she said that she was originally going to steal the Enchiridion back and murder anyone who got in her way but she saw that Finn was in trouble. Something overcame her and she automatically stepped in to help.

Gaz grunted "Used what power I had left to hold that back. I wouldn't have had a problem if I was at full power but I used most of it getting past all the magic barriers I placed around Haven City. So much for getting back home now"

"Are you going to be ok?" asked Finn.

Gaz nodded a little "I need to rest for a moment".

Suddenly Finn hugged his mother saying "Thanks for saving me, mom"

Gaz quirked an eyebrow in surprise and she awkwardly returned the hug "You're…welcome Finn".

* * *

Meanwhile near the power core of the Apocalypse tower, Billy stared up at the glowing blue sphere that powered the tower.

Laying unconscious on the floor was Tak with a large lump on the back of her head.

A sly smirk appeared on his face and his eyes glowed dark green.

With or without the Enchiridion, The Lich will achieve his ultimate goal; the death of every living creature in the land of Ooo.

End of Chapter

* * *

**(a/n: well i hoped you enjoyed this. Please review. Side note- we're almost at the end of the story.)**


	15. Act 15: What They Died For

**(a/n: Enjoy or whatever. Review)**

* * *

Act 15: What They Died For

The apocalypse tower shook violently and groaned loudly.

Zim wobbled a little but he managed to steady himself. The irken scowled "What was that?"

He barked "Computer, run a diagnostic and find the problem!"

"Searching" droned the computer.

Zim waited for a few moments then the computer reported, "Problem found. Source: the neutron star reactor"

"What!" exclaimed Zim "What's wrong?"

"Someone has disabled the reactors safety protocols. Power levels are fluctuating to an incredibly dangerous level" explained the computer.

Zim frowned "What will happen if it isn't stopped?" "Energy levels will rise to an uncontrollable amount till they explode" said the computer

"How bad would that be?" asked Zim

"The explosion would have the equivalent force of a supernova" droned the computer.

Zim's eyes widened in horror "That's bad!" he spun around and he took off running for the generator room in the hopes of containing the situation.

* * *

Outside, the ground began to quake.

Trees were knocked over, the ground began to crack and split open.

Finn looked to his mother "What's going on?"

"Something horrible" said Gaz evenly "I'm guessing someone is messing with the generator. If they're not careful, they might just destroy the world"

"What!?" exclaimed Finn in shock. Gaz shrugged "It'll be an improvement"

Finn drew his sword "I gotta stop him"

"Whatever" muttered Gaz "Wake me up if something good happens" she laid down and she closed her eyes.

Finn took off running towards the Apocalypse Tower.

* * *

Marceline breathed heavily and wiped some sweat off of her brow. She had been avoiding Marcus's for a while and each one was getting close to hitting her. A few shots managed to singe her hair and parts of her clothes.

Marcus remained standing by the door with one weapon trained on the vampire. Marceline tried to reason with Marcus but he ignored her and kept shooting.

Suddenly Marceline was pulled out of her thoughts when in a flash of violet light, Princess Bubblegum appeared in the room.

Marceline frowned in confusion "Bonnie what are you doing here?" "I think Zim might have sent me to the wrong place" mused the princess.

Marcus's cybernetic eye zeroed in on the princess and he droned, "Target acquired" he directed his weapon to Princess Bubblegum.

Quickly, Marceline tackled the princess and the two tumbled to the ground, narrowly missing the plasma bolt that was aimed for their heads.

"Stay down!" ordered Marceline. Princess Bubblegum nodded and the vampire launched herself at the cyborg.

Gripping her ax tightly, Marceline swung her weapon at Marcus. The cyborg simply ducked and he kicked Marceline, sending her flying backwards. Marcus fired a few shots at Marceline but she managed to deflect them with her ax.

Malice stood by one of the doorways with Gir perched on her shoulder. Both were watching the fight going on between the siblings.

Malice noticed that Marcus's human eye was twitching and some sparks were shooting out from the back of his neck "That's not good" muttered the assassin.

The cyborg lowered his pistol and droned "Reassessing strategy" he scanned the room quietly till his eyes landed on Princess Bubblegum "Initiating new strategy".

Before anyone could blink, Marcus snatched up Princess Bubblegum by the throat and he aimed one of his guns at the princess's head.

Princess Bubblegum struggled to break free but she couldn't. Marceline's eyes widened in horror "No!"

Marcus didn't listen. Instead his grip tightened around Princess Bubblegum's throat. The princess began coughing and struggled to breath.

Marcus growled at Marceline "Surrender or else". Marceline said nothing. The vampire tried to find a solution to save Princess Bubblegum but she came up with nothing. Suddenly, Lucas's words echoed in her mind "_When the time comes, swing hard, don't hesitate and don't miss"_.

She now knew what he meant. The vampire wanted to find a way to save her brother but she saw her long time friend being strangled to death.

Princess Bubblegum tried to speak but Marcus squeezed her throat, silencing her. Something in her snapped, Marceline gripped the handle of her ax tightly and she launched herself at Marcus at a breakneck speed. Marcus frowned in confusion "What are you doing?" before he could react, Marceline swung her ax as hard as she could.

For a moment there was silence. Then Marcus let out an inhuman scream of pain. Marceline saw Princess Bubblegum fall to floor along with Marcus's arm.

The cyborg clutched the bleeding stump that used to be his arm, howling in agony. Marceline didn't stop. She kept swinging. The blade sliced through his body effortlessly. Marcus staggered back as black fluid began to flow freely through his wounds. Malice and Gir watched in surprise as she continuously hacked away at her brother. Normally, such an act would horrify Marceline but she didn't care.

The cyborg threatened her friends and had tried to kill her. He was no longer her brother he was her enemy.

Marcus tried to lift his weapon but Marceline chopped his hand off. He fell flat on his back wheezing and pleading "p-please" But his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Marceline kept swinging, over and over. Black liquid splashed all over the walls and on her face. Once she had enough, Marceline stopped. She breathed heavily and looked down at what she had done.

Marcus's body was mangled and hacked into pieces. Black fluid flowed through the open wounds like a fountain. She looked back at Princess Bubblegum. The princess looked terrified. The vampire looked to Malice. The assassin looked shocked and disgusted.

Malice rushed over to Marcus's mangled body and she lifted his head "Marcus, Marcus can you hear me?" said Malice in a shaky voice.

Marcus's face had large slashes that ran deep and his cybernetic eye dangled out of its socket. His human eye was wide and Marceline saw a single drop of a clear liquid streaked down his cheek.

Malice looked up at Marceline and said in shock "He's dead. You just killed your own brother"

"I-I had no choice" stammered Marceline.

Malice shook her head "He was trying to resist his programming. He was almost free" Marceline felt her gut twist into a knot "N-no, he tried to kill Bonnie"

"If he wanted her dead, he would've broke her neck instantly and he wouldn't have given you an ultimatum" said Malice.

Marceline stared at the assassin in shock. Malice gently placed Marcus's head back on the floor and she wiped the black liquid off of her hands.

Malice regarded Marceline coldly and said "Congratulations, You won. Now go" she pointed towards the door that led up to the control room.

Marceline didn't move. She stared down at Marcus. The tower rumbled and shook. Malice looked up at the ceiling muttering "That's not good" suddenly the door to the control room opened and Zim bolted out of it.

Zim ran past them screaming "To the generator room!" then he vanished through the exit.

Marceline, Malice, Princess Bubblegum and Gir stared the door Zim exited through. Then Marceline hurried after him with intent to kill the tiny alien.

* * *

Down below, Tak groaned and rubbed her head. She had been planning on disabling the generator when suddenly someone jumped her from behind.

The Irken got to her feet and she looked around. She was still in the generator room but she saw Billy standing by the power source. He removed the glass container and his hands were hovering around the star's heart, which was still resting in its place on top of the small metal pedestal. Billy's hands were glowing dark green and the blue orb pulsated, emitting an intense wave of heat and energy.

The former general noticed a speck of dark green on the sphere and saw that it was growing very slowly.

Tak scowled, realizing that Billy was not all he claimed to be. She drew a plasma pistol from her pak and aimed it at Billy "Step away slowly"

Billy looked at Tak and said nothing. His eyes glowed dark green and he said in an eerie voice "Nothing can stop it now"

Tak glared at him "We'll see about that" she pulled the trigger. A bolt of plasma shot out of the gun but it ricocheted off an invisible barrier that surrounded Billy.

Billy sneered, "It is futile"

Tak snarled and she pulled out a larger weapon from her pak, A rocket launcher.

Tak growled, "Die!" she pulled the trigger.

* * *

Zim reached the door to the reactor room and heard a loud boom coming from inside.

The irken opened the doors, letting black smoke spill out into the corridor. ZIm shielded his face and he squinted his eyes. Once the smoke dissipated enough, he saw Tak standing there with what looked like a rocket launcher aimed at one of Finn's friends.

The walls around them were covered in soot. Zim scowled at Tak "Tak! What are you doing here!"

She glanced back at Zim and growled, "Trying to save the earth, unfortunately" she nodded towards Billy and the neutron star "He's doing something to the generator, if we don't stop him-"

"There'll be an explosion, I know" interrupted Zim, sounding annoyed.

Zim scowled at the former general and said, "Unfortunately, you're correct. We must stop him".

The two Irkens were interrupted when Marceline, Princess Bubblegum and Gir arrived. Marceline was ready to hack off the Irken's head but she stopped when she saw Billy.

"Billy?" said Marceline in shock "What are you doing?" "He's trying to kill us all" said Zim.

Everyone looked to him. Zim explained, "From what I can tell, he's magnifying the neutron star's power output. He also disabled the safety protocols that keep it from blowing up. If we don't work together to stop him, he will set off a chain reaction that will result in an explosion that will rip this world apart!"

Everyone looked at Zim in shock. They all considered the situation for a moment then Marceline growled, "Why should we help you?"

"If you don't we all die," said Zim.

Marceline scowled at him and said nothing. Tak added, "If we survive this, you can kill Zim"

Marceline grinned "That's more like it".

Tak and Zim brought out their weapons and fired upon Billy. Princess Bubblegum assisted with the weapon she brought. Gir unleashed a barrage of missiles and lasers. Marceline swung at the invisible barrier with all her strength. All their attacks were having minimal effect.

Zim, Tak, Gir and Princess Bubblegum's weapons were being deflected and Marceline's ax bounced off of the barrier.

The Lich stared at his attackers and snarled. They were starting to get on his nerves. He decided that he had just about enough of them. The Lich reached out with his mind and took control of the alien's broken tin soldier "Awake" he whispered "Arise and take revenge".

* * *

Several floors above, Malice sat slumped against a way with a cigarette in her mouth and Marcus's head resting in her lap.

She dug into her pockets and withdrew her lighter. Malice took one long drag and puffed some smoke muttering "Poor bastard".

Marcus laid perfectly still, blood and oil oozing out of him from every wound. She had grown fond of him, even though he was a stickler for orders. Suddenly Marcus's cybernetic eye began glowing green and his human eye blinked. Marcus sat up and he rose to his feet.

Malice's mouth opened slightly and her cigarette dropped out of her mouth. The cyborg looked down at its missing arm and hand than in the blink of an eye, they reappeared. Marcus flexed his fingers and his arms. He nodded slightly and he marched to the exit growling "Marceline".

Once Marcus was gone, Malice sat there trying to make sense of what she had just witnessed.

After a few moments, she looked down at the packet of cigarettes muttering, "That's it, no more of these after a battle".

* * *

Down below, Zim and the others stopped their assault for a moment.

The Lich was unharmed and he still had the neutron star generator in his hand. Zim panted, "This isn't working"

"What do we do?" growled Tak "If we don't stop him, this whole planet will explode"

"I think I have an idea" said Princess Bubblegum. Everyone turned to the pink princess and she explained "I think I can increase our chances of victory if we pool our resources"

"No way!" yelled Zim.

Tak punched him and he wheezed, "I mean, what do you need?"

Tak and Zim handed the princess their weapons and she quickly got to work combining and upgrading their weapons. Marceiline glared at the Lich.

The Lich stared back at her with his soulless green eyes. Suddenly, he began laughing.

The vampire frowned "What are you laughing about?" the Lich pointed towards the door. Marceline glanced back and she felt her heart drop to her stomach.

Standing in the door was Marcus. His face and body was still slashed and oozing black and red liquid. His cybernetic eye was glowing green. Marceline breathed "How….I…?" the Lich chuckled at her and he snapped his fingers.

Marcus crouched down and he launched himself high into the air. He collided with Marceline and the two hurtled back to earth.

Marceline felt the air get knocked out of her lungs. Marcus's hands wrapped around the vampire's throat and he began to strangle her. Desperately, Marceline tried to free herself from Marcus's grip but his hands only closed around her throat tighter. She looked into his eyes and saw intense hatred in them.

Marceline glanced around trying in vain to find something to help. She spotted Gir. "H-Help" coughed Marceline.

Gir's eyes went red and he jumped to Marcus's side. Marcus looked down at the little robot blankly.

The tiny robot chucked a rubber pig at Marcus's head. The rubber toy bounced off of Marcus's face and he just swatted Gir aside with one hand.

With Marcus momentarily distracted, Marceline was able to wriggle free. She lifted her ax and she swung at Marcus's head. The cyborg caught the blade in his hand and he kicked Marceline. The vampire went flying and crashed into a wall.

Marcus stomped towards the fallen vampire with her ax in hand. Marceline tried to get up but Marcus stepped on her back and forced her down. He raised the ax and was about to decapitate her.

Suddenly, the ax and his arm fell to the floor with a loud clatter. Marcus looked down at his missing arm blankly then turned to see who was responsible.

Standing there was Finn. Finn lunged his demon blood sword into Marcus's heart and the blade hit its target. The cyborg wobbled a little then crumpled to the floor.

Finn helped Marceline to her feet asking, "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yeah" said Marceline, still feeling a little shaken by Marcus's resurrection.

Princess Bubblegum announced, "It's finished!" Marceline and Finn rushed over to Princess Bubblegum, Zim and Tak.

Princess Bubblegum held up her modified weapons and handed them to Zim and Tak "These should be strong enough to pierce the magic shield but they are only have enough power for a few shots. Make them count"

"Don't worry" said Tak "I will".

The Irken spun around and she fired the first shot. The red ball of plasma struck the shield and cracked it, which caused the Lich's eyes widened in surprise.

Zim sneered "Not so powerful now, huh?" he fired a shot.

The shield shuddered and the cracks spread further. Tak and Zim fired at the same time and the shield shattered into a million tiny, glittering pieces.

The Lich snarled "No!" "Gotcha!" said Tak. She leveled her rifle and fired at the Lich. The plasma bolt rocketed at the Lich. The Lich swatted it aside but the flesh on his hand was instantly seared away, exposing bone.

Zim fired as well and his plasma bolt grazed the Lich's cheek, which instantly burned away more flesh, exposing a twisted cow skull with a curled ram's horn.

The Lich snarled at them furiously. Tak raised her rifle to deliver the kill shot but all that came out of her weapon was steam. The Irken grunted and tossed her weapon aside "I'm out"

"I'm not" said Zim. He took aim and pulled the trigger. The plasma bolt raced to the Lich but suddenly Marcus threw himself in its path. The plasma bolt struck him in the chest and Marcus's body crashed to the floor.

Almost as quickly as he got hit, Marcus quickly got to his feet and he raised Marceline's ax with his one good hand. He charged at Zim swinging wildly. The Irken quickly jumped out of the way but Marcus managed to slice Zim's weapon in half.

Marcus halted abruptly then turned to Marceline. He growled "Die…Little Marceline" he swung the ax but Finn quickly blocked it.

Finn and Marcus traded blows and they slowly moved away from Marceline, moving towards the center of the generator room. Marcus managed to knock Finn's sword out of his hand and knocked him down with a kick to the chest. The sword slid across the floor and stopped at Marceline's feet.

The vampire picked up the sword and she saw in the ruby blade the image of Lucas. Lucas grinned at her mischievously and said softly "_Now's your chance. Remember, Swing hard…don't hesitate and don't miss" _

Marceline gulped and she gripped the sword tightly. The vampire saw Marcus standing over Finn, ready to behead him. Marceline felt her blood run cold.

She charged Marcus screaming, "Get away from him!" The cyborg looked up in time to see Marceline drive Finn's sword through his throat.

The possessed cyborg stumbled back a bit, trying in vain to pull the sword out. He bumped into the Lich and Marcus's body landed on the star's heart. The star connected with Marcus's flesh and suddenly the dark green blots overshadowed the blue.

The Lich smiled eerily and he hissed, "It is finished".

Marceline helped Finn to his feet and they heard Zim scream "Fool! Do you know what you have done?"

"What?" said Marceline. The vampire turned and saw that the star was starting to pulse faster and the temperature in the room skyrocketed.

Marcus's body twitched and convulsed, then slid to the floor with a large gaping hole burned through his body.

The entire tower began to quake violently.

* * *

Outside, the earth began to crack and split open further.

Hot magma oozed through the cracks like blood from a wound. Gaz glanced around her as the earth began to split open and spew magma.

The violet haired empress shrugged "Eh, whatever". She just sat there on the grass and waited as the magma began to bubble to the surface.

* * *

Inside, large labs of metal began to rattle loose from the ceiling and crash to the floor.

Marceline glanced at Zim and screamed over the loud screeching of metal "What's going on!"

"The end of the world!" screamed Zim "The corrupted star heart is starting to tear this planet apart"

"What do we do?" asked Princess Bubblegum.

Zim shook his head "I don't know". The Lich let out a booming laugh as shards of the tower began to rain down on them.

The entire planet shook even more violently. Cracks and seams split open, letting magma flow more freely, burning and melting all that laid before it. Finn, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Zim and the others fled from the generator room.

They raced up the stairs to the very topmost part of the tower.

* * *

Outside, they watched as fire consumed the planet. Black smoke blotted out the night sky.

Finn saw his mother standing outside, in the middle of an ocean of magma.

Slowly, the magma began to draw close to her. Finn screamed "Mom!"

Gaz stood there, watching as the tide of magma rise. She looked up at Finn and waved goodbye. Gaz muttered blissfully "Sweet release" as she allowed herself to be swallowed up by the rising tide of magma.

Finn felt an overwhelming sense of loss. He had just seen his mother die before his very eyes.

Marceline turned to Zim and grabbed him by the throat snarling, "Fix this!"

Zim shook his head quickly stammering, "I-I can't! Even if I wanted to, there is nothing I can do" "You're lying" said Marceline.

She felt someone's hand on her shoulder. The vampire turned and saw Princess Bubblegum. The princess stared at her with a sorrowful expression "He's right".

Marceline didn't want to believe her friend but she knew that the princess was right.

The vampire released Zim. The Irken rubbed his throat and muttering something in Irken.

Tak stared down at the inferno saying softly "I have always dreamed that I would die in glorious battle"

"Me too" said Zim, sighing wistfully "Except I thought there would be more robots and lasers".

The two irkens shared a glance and Tak muttered "I can't believe I'm going to say this but, goodbye Zim. I wish things would've worked out differently between us".

Zim stared at her for a moment and nodded "Me too".

Suddenly the floor beneath them gave way and they fell to the sea of magma below. Gir rushed over and he dived after them screaming, "Wait for me!"

Mini moose squeaked loudly and he dived after Gir.

Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Finn and Jake watched in horror as the flames consumed them. Another tremor shook the tower and Finn fell over the side.

Jake stretched and caught him but his paws slipped. The two went tumbling into the flames. Marceline watched in horror as Finn and Jake were consumed in the fires.

The planet groaned loudly and shook. Princess Bubblegum turned to Marceline saying "Marceline…I-" but the words died in her throat.

The planet shook more violently, the crust split open wider and magma shot into the black sky like a geyser. Screams could be heard for miles as people from all over Ooo. One final quake split the planet in half and the core exploded, consuming everything in an inferno.

* * *

Marceline's eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring up at a white ceiling.

The vampire sat up and she saw that she was lying in a bed. Marceline frowned as to how she got there. She looked around and she saw that the she was in a spacious, empty room.

The vampire crawled out of bed and floated over towards the only door there. She opened the door and Marceline saw that it led to what looked like a lounge.

In the lounge was a bar with bar stools, a couch, some vending machines, a large plasma screen TV and a large fountain that spouted soda. Soft rock music was playing from a massive stereo system that sat behind the bar.

The vampire's eyes went to the couch and she saw three beings occupying it.

One was Don, the man who appeared in the Library in the Candy Kingdom. The other was a woman with flowing red hair. She had pale skin and sky blue eyes. The last being was none other than Lucas. He wore a red, velvet bathrobe. In one hand was a goblet that was studded with emeralds and rubies. In the other was a cigar.

Marceline stared in wonder at the three beings.

Don glanced over his shoulder and he nudged Lucas. Lucas frowned at his friend than he glanced back.

His eyes lit up and he smiled "Ah, Marceline you made it!"

"Where am I?" asked the vampire

"You're dead" answered the woman as she reached down at a goblet that sat on the floor by the couch.

Marceline stared at the woman in shock "What?"

"You're dead" repeated the woman as she drained her goblet "And this is just one of many Purgatories that Death had dropped you in".

The vampire stammered, "H-how am I dead?"

"The planet blew up and killed you and your friends" said Lucas casually. He motioned to the TV. Marceline's eyes went to the TV and she saw a planet on fire.

She recognized that it was Ooo, or Earth as it was once known. The planet glowed brighter and brighter until suddenly it detonated.

Chunks of earth, fire and other matter flew into millions of random directions, scattering its remains to the stars. Marceline sank to her knees and watched as the remnants of earth, the planet where she was born and raised dissipated and became nothing but space dust.

Lucas sipped something from his goblet and sighed in pleasure "Perfect and I didn't have to be there to get any dust on my favorite jacket".

The four sat in silence, staring at the television screen until Lucas clapped his hands together saying "That was fun. Now, who wants lunch?"

End of chapter.

* * *

**(a/n: Almost done, one chapter to go! Sorry if this sucked. Review...or not.)**


	16. Act 16: Two for the Road

**(a/n: Here it is, the end. Please review and enjoy!)**

* * *

Act 16: Two for the Road

Marceline sat at the bar staring blankly at her plate of piping hot steak.

Lucas, Don and the woman named Lilly were busy eating their stakes by her. The vampire didn't have an appetite. After seeing her friends, enemies and pretty much her entire planet go up in flames she had lost the desire to eat.

The red haired man glanced at Marceline in concern "Is everything alright?"

"Alright?" said Marceline as if he were joking "My friends are dead and my entire planet exploded. How do you think I feel?"

Lucas shrugged "I don't know, upset" "That's an understatement" muttered Don.

Lucas shot him a death glare and then glanced back to Marceline "Look, I know you're upset but look at it this way, no more responsibilities from here on out"

Marceline looked at the redhead in confusion "What are you talking about?"

"Think about it" said Lucas "No more long, miserable life of solitude for Simon Petrikov, he'll be reunited with his wife, Betty. Finn will be with the rest of his little family, except maybe for his mother. Even little Bonnibel gets a measure of peace"

"What about me?" asked Marceline.

Lucas smiled "You're going up, but not your father".

"What!" exclaimed Marceline "Why?"

"I can explain that" said Lilly. The vampire turned to the woman and Lilly explained, "Your daddy made a deal with Lucas during the war. He desperately wanted to keep you and your family safe. He agreed to an arrangement. Hunson would serve us and do our bidding for all time. In return, you would live on after the war in safety. Now that the war and pretty much the entire planet are kaput, you're free while he will be our little cabana boy for all eternity".

Marceline asked "What about Marcus?"

"Now that there's a good question" said Lucas, lifting his glass "He has been a good little boy but he did commit mass slaughter in the past few days. Then again, he was under alien influence"

"Let the judges figure that out" said Don, carving up his slab of steak and dousing it in barbeque sauce. Lucas nodded "Fair enough".

Marceline glanced back at the plasma screen television and saw that it was showing the large chunks of earth floating around where Earth once was. She thought of the inhabitants of Ooo who all died in the inferno. Marceline shivered. She turned back to her plate and stared down at the stake. It was all over. Earth was gone and everyone and everything she ever cared about is gone.

The vampire wised she could change it. She thought of trying to summon Mortos Der Soul Stealer but he was long gone. Suddenly an idea popped into her head.

Marceline turned to Lucas and asked, "Can you fix it?"

"What?" said Lucas, lowering his glass from his lips

"Put the earth back together" said Marceline "Can you do it?"

The redhead frowned "What makes you think I can?" "You said you can do anything" answered Marceline.

Lucas frowned then said, "Even if I could, why should I? The good times are over. Well they have been for the last thousand or so years when those humans blew each other to Hell, but the point is that everything has its time. Earth's number came up and it went out with a spectacular bang".

He sipped his drink then stared at Marceline "Besides, you have nothing to offer me in exchange".

Marceline scowled "What do you mean?"

"Usually in these sorts of transactions, people would have to give something to get something" said Lucas "For your dad, his eternal soul for your safety. For this transaction, it would require something with a little more kick"

"What?" asked Marceline.

The corners of Lucas's lips twitched and they spread, forming an eerie smile. "The soul of a loved one" he answered.

Marceline's eyes widened in shock and sputtered "W-what?"

"For Earth and all of your little buddies who died in the explosion, you have to give up the soul of a dear loved one" said Lucas, his eyes gleaming.

Marceline shook her head quickly saying "No, no, no. There has to be another way".

Lucas glanced at Lilly "Is there?" "Nope" said Lilly as she chewed on her stake.

He turned glanced at Marceline and shrugged "Sorry kid, that's the price". The vampire stared at the red head in disbelief "What kind of price is that?"

"A fair one" said Don "In exchange for a planet, people usually have to give up another planet. This is a good bargain".

Marceline thought for a moment. She didn't want to give up a loved one's soul but if she didn't, than she wouldn't be able to see her friends again. Finally, she asked "Who's soul do you want?"

"Marcus's" answered Lucas without hesitation. Marceline felt her heart drop into her stomach. She hesitated to answer then said "….ok".

Lucas smiled "Good" he snapped his fingers and Marcus suddenly appeared next to him in a pillar of crimson fire.

Once the flames and smoke cleared, Marceline saw that he looked different. Marcus was dressed in black like before but he had no cybernetic parts on him or any wounds. He was perfectly human again.

Lucas turned to Marceline saying, "We'll give you a few minutes to say goodbye".

Lucas, Don and Lilly vanished a puff of black smoke.

Once they were gone, Marcus looked around in confusion "Where am I?" he looked at Marceline "Marceline? What's going on?"

She waved nervously "H-hi Marcus" she went around the bar and gave him a hug.

Marcus looked at her in confusion and asked, "What happened? I remember that tower and the explosion but after that it was all fuzzy" his eyes narrowed a little "I also remember you hitting me over and over with an ax"

"Sorry" apologized Marceline. Marcus smiled a little "It's ok, I would've done the same if the situation was reversed".

Marceline smiled a little. Marcus asked, "So, what's up?"

The vampire didn't know what to say. How was she going to tell her older brother that she was going to give his soul over to some random stranger that her father made a deal with years ago? She silently debated with herself on weather or not to tell Marcus the truth.

Finally, she just said "I…I missed you"

"I missed you too Marcy" said Marcus. His eyes started to water a little "Being stuck as a lab rat for a tiny megalomaniac for a thousand years and being used as a puppet for some undead sorcerer, it really made me appreciate what I had" his voice started to break "I shouldn't have left…I should've listened to dad"

"Marcus…" said Marceline.

Marcus sniffled a little then said "Marceline, I just want to say what I should've said when I left" "What?" asked Marceline.

Before Marcus could answer, he exploded in a flash of blue-white light. The blue-white light scattered and reformed into a sphere. The sphere flew into Lucas's hand.

Lucas said casually "Times up"

Marceline stared at Lucas in shock then demanded "Bring him back!"

The red head shook his head "No". He lifted the blue-white sphere of light and he swallowed it. Lucas gulped it down then burped loudly. He sighed in pleasure saying, "Ooh,that's good soul".

Marceline stared at Lucas in horror. Lucas smiled and said, "You got yourself a deal, Marcy" he snapped his fingers.

Slowly the room faded away like ink in water. Marceline tried to grab Lucas but his body slipped through her fingers like smoke. He chuckled at her saying "Have a nice life kid" bit by bit the red head vanished with the room. The last thing Marceline saw were Lucas's eyes, which glowed dark orange like a pair of dying embers then everything faded to black.

* * *

Marceline heard chirping. Her eyes blinked open and she saw that she was lying beneath a starry night sky.

A pale, full moon shone brightly in the night. The vampire bolted up right and she looked around her. She found herself sitting in the middle of the grasslands.

Nearby were an unconscious Princess Bubblegum, Jake, Finn, Zim, Tak, Gir, Mini Moose and a violet haired woman.

One by one, everyone else began to wake. Princess Bubblegum looked around in shock, Finn was covered in sweat, and Jake was kissing the ground. Tak and Zim were looking around in surprise.

Gir and Mini Moose danced around like nothing happened. The violet haired woman scowled and grumbled, "Damn it".

Marceline glanced to her side and she saw her bass ax. The vampire got up and looked around for Marcus, hoping in vain that he was there. But there was no trace of him. She sighed deeply and felt a sharp pang of sadness. Marcus was gone for good now. Marceline felt tears running down her face.

Princess Bubblegum asked "Marceline, is everything ok?"

the vampire sniffed and mumbled "Yeah".

Zim screamed, "I am invincible! Nothing can kill the mighty Zim!"

Marceline grabbed her ax and snarled "Wannna bet?" she charged at the diminutive alien. Zim cried out in fear and he took off running with Marceline hot on his heels. She swung at his head and legs but Zim managed to duck and dive out of the way.

The vampire cornered Zim at a tree. She raised her ax to decapitate him but she just couldn't go through with it.

Marceline instead punched Zim in the gut and left him curled up on the ground moaning in pain.

The vampire plopped down on the grass and buried her face in her hands. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

Marceline looked up and saw the violet haired woman. The woman asked, "What are you moping about? We're still alive, which is surprising considering the fact that the entire planet went supernova and vaporized everything."

Marceline briefly explained about her deal with Lucas and what it cost her. The violet haired woman stared at Marceline for a few moments and when the vampire finished explaining, the woman cocked an eyebrow then said "Is that it?"

Marceline sniffed and nodded. The woman rolled her eyes "Amateur. You don't make deals with the Fallen One; he pretty much screws you in all sorts of deals. That is why I sought after this" she pulled an old book from her pocket. The Enchiridion.

Marceline frowned "What does that have to do with anything?" "This book is a portal to the Multiverse" explained the woman "It is also a gateway to a wish-granting being. Although he is nowhere near as powerful as Lucas, he can still help you"

the woman handed the book to Marceline "Here, take it" Marceline looked up at the woman in surprise "You're giving it to me?"

"Sure, why not" said the woman "Maybe you can fix this whole mess".

Marceline stared at the book in her hands and then looked up to the woman saying "Thank you"

"Whatever" grumbled the woman. She took a few steps back and then was consumed by a pillar of violet fire. Once the fire died, Marceline saw that the woman was gone.

The vampire turned to Finn and the others and asked, "Who was that lady?" "That's my mom" answered Finn.

Marceline's eyebrows rose in surprise. The vampire then glanced at the book. She opened the book, wondering how she was going to get to the wish granting being that Finn's mother was talking about when suddenly Marceline was blinded by a flash of white light.

When the light faded, Marceline found herself standing on an asteroid, floating in the middle of space. All around were glittering stars, shining nebulas and spiraling galaxies. Up ahead was a large, floating yellow cube like structure. Marceline decided to investigate it.

* * *

Back on Earth, Zim managed to get to his feet after Marceline punched him in the gut.

The Irken wheezed, "Is she gone?" "Yeah" said Gir.

Zim straightened up and coughed "Excellent, now on to business" he reached into his Pak and withdrew a weapon. He aimed the weapon at Tak, who aimed a weapon at Zim. The two Irkens glared at each other, waiting for one of them to pull the trigger.

Finn, Jake and Princess Bubblegum stared at the two, waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly, a pair of spotlights blinked on and shone down on the two Irkens. Everyone looked up and saw a massive maroon colored starship hovering overhead. Embossed on the hull was the Irken Empire's insignia.

Over a loud speaker, a female voice boomed, "_Former General Tak, you are hereby under arrest for attempted assassination of an officer of the Irken Empire" _

"What!" Tak cried in outrage. There was a flash of violet light and several Irkens in matching uniforms appeared around Tak, all aiming weapons at the former general. The voice ordered "_Stand down or die"._

Tak glared at each of the Irken soldiers then sighed in defeat. She threw down her weapon growling something in the Irken's native language. The soldiers confiscated Tak's weapon and they cuffed her. A pair of soldiers, along with Tak, vanished in a flash of violet light.

The remaining soldiers approached Zim and asked "Sir, would you please accompany us?"

"Why?" asked Zim. One of the soldiers answered, "To stand as a witness at Tak's trial and receive your promotion from the Tallest".

Zim grinned and said, "Yes, I will".

Another one of the soldiers spoke into his communicator "Package is secure, we are good to go".

Soon, Zim, the Irken soldiers, Gir and Mini Moose vanished. The massive Irken starship ascended into the sky, its massive thrusters rumbled loudly like thunder. Once the starship left Ooo's upper atmosphere, Jake turned to Finn and Princess Bubblegum and asked the one question that was on their minds "What was all that about?"No one answered.

They heard a moan. The three turned and saw Malice approaching them, rubbing her head and moaning. Malice muttered "No more Vortian whiskey before bed". She spotted Finn, Jake and Princess Bubblegum. The assassin asked, "Where's Zim?"

The three pointed up to the stars. Malice looked up and saw a small, black shape growing smaller and smaller. She groaned, "Damn it. There goes my ride home". The assassin looked to the three and asked hopefully "Can I crash with you guys for a while?"

* * *

Marceline cautiously entered the central chamber of the cube structure. She found it empty, except for the painting of a flat, two-dimensional being and a blond man sitting on the floor with a checker board.

The vampire paused and saw that the flat being was moving. It was alive. The two-dimensional being was playing checkers with a blond man with bright green eyes.

The blond man was dressed in a brown, leather jacket, a white shirt and blue jeans. The two looked towards Marceline.

The blond man waved "Hey, how are you doing?" "Fine" answered Marceline cautiously. She approached the two "Which one of you grants wishes?"

"I do" said the flat being. He introduced himself "I am Prismo" he pointed to the blond man "And this is Mike".

Prismo then asked, "Do you have a wish?"

"Yes" answered Marceline.

Prismo held up a hand "Before you wish, I got to warn you. You must word your wish precisely or else things will backfire and you have only one wish. Got it?"

Marceline swallowed hard and she nodded. The vampire thought hard for a moment. She had no idea what to wish for. For the most part, she wanted her brother back but she also wanted things to be back to the way things were before Zim showed up.

Marceline asked "Can you save a soul from a guy named Lucas?"

"Lucas?" said Prismo in surprise "Red hair? Pale? Shifty?" "Yeah" said Marceline nodding.

Prismo sighed, "No, I can't. He's far more powerful then I am" Prismo glanced to Mike "He could save souls from Lucas but only if they haven't been bargained away like a piece of jewelry" Marceline felt her stomach twist into a knot.

Mike looked at the vampire in disappointment "You did, didn't you?"

Marceline nodded and looked down at the floor in shame. Mike sighed and said "I wish I can help but it's a binding deal, I can't interrupt that without causing problems" he paused then said "…However, if you were to, say, make a different wish"

"Different wish?" said Marceline, looking up at the blond man.

Mike shrugged "What if Zim didn't live through the war? What if some wiring went faulty and accidentally suffocates him? Something like that."

Marceline thought about what Mike said then she realized what he was saying. She thought of some alternatives then finally decided on a wish.

The vampire turned to Prismo then said, "I know what to wish for".

* * *

Aboard the Irken starship _Xanthium_, Zim stood outside of Tak's holding cell gloating as the starship raced back to their home world.

He sneered at Tak "Look at you, not even fit to be an invader"

"Me?" said Tak in disbelief "You aren't even a true invader. The Tallests just sent you on some made up mission to keep you out of the way. They hated you, everyone hated you"

"Nonsense they love me" said Zim, waving a hand at her.

Tak was about to retort but suddenly Zim vanished before her eyes in a flash of blue light.

The former general blinked in surprise. She thought of alerting the guards but she just shrugged and decided to enjoy the peace and quiet.

* * *

Marceline stood in Prismo's time room and watched the scene unfold on the wall in front of her.

She saw Zim hurriedly rushed about his base packing things into storage containers. She watched as Zim's house disassembled itself and turn into a small pen like object. Zim tossed it into his pak.

He yelled to Gir and Mini Moose "Hurry! Before the next wave arrives!" Gir giggled and hopped into Zim's tiny starship, Mini Moose squeaked at Zim then joined Gir.

Zim growled, "It's not running away, it's…a strategic retreat. We shall make a new base on the moon and we shall wait until the war is over".

Sirens wailed in the night and the alien hopped into his ship. The ship took off at an astonishing speed and left Earth's atmosphere.

Marceline smiled a little and she saw a spiraling portal open in front of Zim's ship. Zim's voot runner shot into the portal. The portal sealed itself up once Zim passed through.

The vampire sighed in relief. It was done.

Marceline had wished that Zim had left Earth; long before he took Marcus to escape the war. She also specified that Zim would get caught in a wormhole that would put him on the far end of the Galaxy, away from earth and back to Irk.

Prismo agreed and they watched as Zim's ship reappeared over Irk.

The vampire was satisfied that Zim was gone but she watched as Marcus was killed in a hail of shrapnel from a grenade.

Even though Marcus was dead, Marceline was glad that he was spared years of experimentation, years of pain and saved those he slaughtered while under Zim's control.

Suddenly, she heard clapping. The vampire turned and saw Lucas. The redhead looked absolutely livid.

He grinned a forced grin, "Well played Marcy, well played. Since Zim retreated to Irk early in the war, he never captured Marcus, which meant the poor fool died in battle. If he died and Zim left, then that meant I could never have his soul"

He chuckled a little then he glared at the vampire and hissed "Nice going. I'll be keeping my eye on you, you little twerp". The red head vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Mike whistled, "He's pissed". He patted Marceline on the shoulder "Nice job, now go home".

The vampire frowned "How?" Mike snapped his fingers and Marceline found herself standing in the foyer of Princess Bubblegum's castle where Finn, the Princess and all their friends were waiting.

They were all gathered around the Princess, who was showing off a new invention.

Finn waved her over "Marceline, come over here! You got to check this out!" the vampire grinned and she went over to join her friends muttering "All is right with the world".

The end.

* * *

**(a/n: i know, i know, not a very good end. but there it is. Hoped you enjoyed this story, please review.)**


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